How to Use Text Recovery Converter For Word Documents

Key Takeaways
  • Text Recovery Converter in Microsoft Word helps recover text from corrupted or damaged documents, focusing on text rather than formatting or images.
  • To use Text Recovery Converter: open Word, go to File, Open, Browse, select your document, choose "Recover Text from Any File" in the file type, and open the file.
  • Alternatives for document recovery include using the "Open and Repair" feature, "Recover Unsaved Documents", and third-party recovery software like Stellar Repair For Word.

We have all experienced the frustration when a Word document you have poured so much time and effort into suddenly gets corrupted. The Word file refuses to open up and starts showing random errors and damaged text blocks, causing frustration and distress.

But don’t worry, we have got you covered. In this guide, we will explore how you can use Microsoft Word’s handy Text Recovery Converter tool to recover your text in a matter of minutes. So, get your documents ready and let’s learn how to use text recovery converter for Word!

Microsoft Word Error

What is Text Recovery Converter?

Text Recovery Converter is a built-in tool in Microsoft Word that allows users to recover text from corrupted or damaged documents. In addition to recovering text, the tool is also used to convert files into other file types such as PDF to HTML or TXT.

The way Text Recovery Converter works is that it extracts text pieces for a damaged document and saves it in a new, editable document. However, the resulting document will be more focused on only recovering important text blocks rather than saving other elements like formatting, images, effects, etc.

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How to Use Text Recovery Converter For Word

When it comes to using the Text Recovery converter feature for Word documents, you don’t need any additional downloads to get things started. Instead, all you need is Microsoft Word and your corrupted file and you are ready for recovery.

Here’s how to use text recovery converter for Word:

  1. Open up the Microsoft Word software.
    Open MS Word
  2. Once that loads up, you’ll need to click on the File option at the top left corner.
    Click on the file option
  3. This will open the menu. Here, you’ll need to click on the Open option. 
    Head over to the open tab
  4. Next, click on the Browse option to open the file locater.
    Click on the browse button
  5. Now, select your document and click on the small arrow next to the “Files of Type” box. 
    Change file type
  6. From the menu, select the “Recover Text from Any File” option.
    Select recover text from any file
  7. Finally, click on the open button and after a bit of processing, MS Word will open a new file with all the recovered text displayed on it.
    Click on open

Once the document is recovered, you might come across binary data text which simply is pieces of text that the fixing tool couldn’t completely understand and weirdly left them. Hence, we recommend clearing those out before saving the Word document to save yourself from any leftover technical jargon that might cause issues.
This is how binary data text can look like

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Alternatives to Recovering Damaged Word Documents

Apart from recovering your text file with Text Recovery Tool, Microsoft Word also provides two other alternatives if your document is still not completely repaired. Let’s break them down.

1. Using Open and Repair

Open and Repair is another built-in tool in MS Word that acts similar to Text Recovery converter but it’s designed to fix minor issues with Word documents.

Here’s how to use the Open and Repair tool to recover Word files:

  1. Open up MS Word and click on the File button.
    Open up MS Word
  2. Now, head to the Open section and click on the Browse option.
    Click on the browse option
  3. From the menu, select your file and click on the arrow next to the “Open” button. 
    Click on the arrow next to the open button
  4. Here, select the “Open and Repair” option.
    Select open and repair

Once that’s done, Microsoft Word will attempt to repair the document and restore it to its original format. If the repair is successful, the document will open in Word, and if it’s unsuccessful the error message will pop up again.

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2. Recover Unsaved Documents

Another way to recover corrupted Word documents is by using the Recover Unsaved Documents feature which allows you to open up temporary auto-saves of your recent documents.

Here’s how to use the Recover Unsaved Document feature:

  1. Launch the MS Word software and click on the File button once it loads up.
    Click on the file option
  2. Now, head to the Open tab.
    Head to the open tab
  3. From here, click on the Recover Unsaved Documents button at the bottom of your documents screen.
    Click on recover unsaved documents
  4. This will take you up to a pre-defined file location where you’ll have a few folders containing your document’s previous revision. 
    Unlike ours your folder should contain your documents
  5. Now, choose the most recent version and click on Open.
    Click on open
  6. This will open a recovered version of your document.
It’s important to remember that the Recover Unsaved Documents feature works for recent documents only. Additionally, it can not completely recover your current file and will only take you to a previous version which will cause you to lose some data.

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3. Use Recovery Software Tools

Now that we have covered all the available options within the MS Word software, it’s time to look at a third-party alternative for recovering damaged files. Recovery software like Stellar Repair For Word can not only recover texts from corrupted files but also images and even formatting.

Here’s how to use Stellar Repair For Word:

  1. Open up the Stellar Repair for Word application once you have it installed on your device.
  2. From the home screen, you’ll need to select your corrupted document.
    Stellar repair for word
  3. Click on the Browse button to open up the file locater and select your file.
    Click on the browse button
  4. After selecting your file, click on the Scan button to start the recovery process.
    Click on the scan option
  5. Once the process is finished, a preview of your recovered document will open up on your screen.
    Recovered document

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Recovering Corrupted Documents — What’s The Best Method?

If you are stuck between the several methods mentioned above to recover your damaged Word document, you’ll have to consider a few things before settling down to one option. Apart from using a third-party tool, the three built-in methods for MS Word are only for specific cases. Let’s have a quick rundown.

  • Text Recovery Converter: This feature is your go-to choice for recovering severe or minor corrupted documents as it’s the most advanced among the three and not only repairs files but also extracts text from them.
  • Open and Repair: This feature is not as powerful as Text Recovery Converter as it’s only for minor fixes like files not opening properly. It only attempts to recover the exact document and can’t recover text from it.
  • Recover Unsaved Documents: This feature is only for recent corrupted documents and can allow users to open up auto-saves of their document’s previous versions.

All three of these features are designed for a specific purpose and are catered towards different issues. However, if you are attempting to recover severely damaged documents we recommend sticking with Text Recovery Converter or using a third-party recovery tool to even recover other elements like formatting and images.

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Conclusion

In short, recovering damaged documents is a breeze with Microsoft Word’s several built-in tools. If you want to take care of a severely damaged file you can use the Text Recovery Converter feature and if you are looking to fix minor problems you can simply use the Open and Repair tool.

Additionally, you can take advantage of Recover Unsaved Documents to get a hold of previous versions of your recent files or you can download a third-party software to get everything recovered from your document in a few clicks.

FAQs

Which file formats is the Text Recovery Converter compatible with?

The Text Recovery Converter is designed to primarily handle Microsoft Word files, such as those in .doc and .docx formats, and can also extract text from files that aren’t specifically document formats.

How do I know if my document is corrupted or damaged?

A Word document can become corrupted for several reasons that can prevent you from opening it such as incorrect document layout and formatting, unreadable characters on the screen, error messages during processing, and more.

Is Text Recovery converter available on Mac?

Yes, Text Recovery converter is a built-in tool that comes with Microsoft Word which can be purchased on Mac devices as well.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kamil Anwar


Kamil is a certified MCITP, CCNA (W), CCNA (S) and a former British Computer Society Member with over 9 years of experience Configuring, Deploying and Managing Switches, Firewalls and Domain Controllers also an old-school still active on FreeNode.