Cant Open Xml File With Ms Word 2011

Right-click on the saved XML file (it should be in the same folder as your original document), then select Open with and choose a text editing program to open the file with (e.g. WordPad, NotePad, or other text editing program — do NOT choose Microsoft Word). Press Ctrl+F to open the Find dialog box. Trying to open documents via Finder doesn't work either. The message that comes up is 'Word cannot open the XML file as docx cannot be opened because of problems with the contents of the file name might contain invalid characters (for example, /). The file names are definitely not saved that way. Hope someone knows what to do. The suspect files open fine in my Windows VM using Word 2003 (well word converts them in the process of opening) they just won't open using Word for Mac. It's frustrating enough that it takes ages (tens of minutes vs seconds using a Window VM on the Mac) to open a windows server folder using finder that to then not be able to open the word doc. On the 'File' menu or the Microsoft Office button, click 'Open'. In the Open dialog box, click to select the blank Word file. Click the down arrow on the 'Open' button, and then click 'Open and Repair'. Use Google Doc Step 1. Send the corrupted Word file to your Gmail account.

Let’s say that you get a form, for example from the government, in Microsoft Word format. You need to fill in the fields which are supposed to be nicely laid out for you. However there are problems filling in those fields because of document formatting, Microsoft Word version incompatibility, etc. argh reasons. This wouldn’t happen in the beatiful word of Office productivity suite, would it?

You could easily fill in the form if you could simply just edit the document and put the text there. But this is prevented using Microsoft Word form password protection mechanism. You need to know the password to enable the editing of the document.

Word

The documention “protection” is not actually very big protection at all. You simply have a flag in the .docx file telling “oh please dear user do not change my beautiful document and just try to have your text in the predefined fields”. The authors of the document are probably right and an average Joe will destroy the document formatting in Word. On the other hand if you know what you are doing you just can get your paperwork done. The password, saved inside the document, is not very much protection, as you can manually gut the document and flip the flag inside.

.docx is actually zip archive containing XML files and you can manipulate its contents with a text editor and ZIP program. Unzip:

Edit the unzipped file word/settings.xml using your favorite plain-text editor.

Remove attributes in the following element:

Now it looks like:

Re-zip:

Re-open in Microsoft Word.

With

Poof. The form protection is gone. Sip coffee and continue with your inspirating paper work.

Overview

There are three ways in all to fix 'The file cannot be opened because there are problems with the contents' problem. The table below is an overview of the solution, read detailed content for full steps.

Workable SolutionsStep-by-step Troubleshooting
Fix 1. Use Open and Repair Start Word. On the 'File' menu or the Microsoft Office button, click 'Open'. In the Open dialog box...Full steps
Fix 2. Use Google Doc Send the corrupted Word file to your Gmail account. Click the attachment to open it in Google...Full steps
Fix 3. Use Word recovery toolYou can troubleshoot by using EaseUS disk data recovery to retrieve corrupted DOCX...Full steps

'When I try to open a .docx file, Microsoft Word 2013 doesn't allow me to access the file and flashes an error message saying 'The file [.docx] cannot be opened because there are problems with the contents.' Clicking on the details, it displays an 'unspecified error'. Is there a way to recover the word document or its contents?'

Causes of the Error

There are many reasons to stop Microsoft Office from working correctly and saying the .docx or .xml file cannot be opened because there are problems with the contents. The following are the most common causes for Word file cannot be opened.

  • Large sized files (Files are over 200kb threshold and contains non-text elements.)
  • Old and new versions are not compatible
  • Complicated functioning and advanced operations
  • Corruption or damage of the storage media that used to save Word document

'The file cannot be opened because there are problems with the contents' Fixes

Getting error prompt, 'The file cannot be opened because there are problems with the contents' is quite common when you try to open your office documents like .docx or .xml files. In this page, we have created three solutions, including a third-party Word file recovery software to help! Now, you can opt for any solution accordingly.

Fix1. Use Open and Repair Feature

The Word built-in 'Open and Repair' feature can probably fix the issue or corruption that detected on the document.

Step 1. Start Word.
Step 2. On the 'File' menu or the Microsoft Office button, click 'Open'.
Step 3. In the Open dialog box, click to select the blank Word file.
Step 4. Click the down arrow on the 'Open' button, and then click 'Open and Repair'.

Cant open xml file with ms word 2011 online

Fix2. Use Google Doc

Step 1. Send the corrupted Word file to your Gmail account.
Step 2. Click the attachment to open it in the Google Docs previewer.
Step 3.Click 'Open With Google Docs'. The document should open and be viewable.
Step 4. Click 'File' > 'Download As' > 'Microsoft Word (.docx)'.
Step 5. Use Microsoft Word to open the document you just downloaded.

Fix3. Use Word Recovery Software

Cant Open Xml File With Ms Word 2011 Online

If the above two direct solutions don't work and the problem still exists when you open the Word document, you can continue troubleshooting with EaseUS disk data recovery to retrieve damaged or corrupted DOCX files of MS Office 2019/ 2016/ 2013/ 2010/ 2007. Apart from Word documents, this tool also can help you recover deleted or lost Excel files, PPT/PPTS, HTML/HTML, PDF, and more.

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard

  • Recover lost or deleted files, documents, photos, audio, music, emails effectively
  • Recover files from SD card, emptied recycle bin, memory card, flash drive, digital camera, and camcorders
  • Support data recovery for sudden deletion, formatting, hard drive corruption, virus attack, system crash under different situations

Step 1. Choose the Word file location

If it's on a USB flash drive or SD card, connect it to your computer first. Choose the hard disk drive or a specific folder and click the 'Scan' button.

Step 2. Scan and select lost files

The software will start immediately scanning all lost data on the selected drive. After the scan, click 'Filter', choose 'Word' from the drop-down list, and click the tree view on the left side to navigate the wanted Word documents.

Step 3. Preview Word files and recover

Cant Open Xml File With Ms Word 2011 Free

You're allowed to double-click and preview a Word file if you have Microsoft Word application installed on your computer. Finally, select the desired Word file and click 'Recover'.

Except for file recovery, EaseUS data recovery software is capable of recovering lost files from formatted disk/partition, emptied recycle bin, lost partition, damaged/corrupted hard drive, etc.

Cant Open Xml File With Ms Word 2011 Full

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