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MS Office Forum / Word / General MS Word Questions / June 2006A question re corruption
Quite a lot has been written about avoiding corruption of documents, and one piece of advice has been "do not save to A: from Word (though from Explorer is okay). I habitually save to a memory stick/flash drive in drive E and I would like to automate this with a VBA macro. Does anyone have any information on why saving to A: from Word causes corruption, and more importantly whether or not saving to E: poses the same danger? Alternatively (and OT) is it possible to write a VBA (or other) Macro to invoke this procedure from a hot key while in Windows Explorer (where I currently do this manually)? TIA I could try to give you the reason I've been told - but probably would end up phrasing it wrong. All I know is that it has to do with the temp files created - and that it only takes a few more moments to do it correctly.  SignatureJoAnn Paules MVP Microsoft [Publisher] > Quite a lot has been written about avoiding corruption of documents, and > one piece of advice has been "do not save to A: from Word (though from [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > TIA > I could try to give you the reason I've been told - but > probably would end up phrasing it wrong. All I know is that > it has to do with the temp files created - and that it only > takes a few more moments to do it correctly. It has to do with the temporary files created during editing. SAVING to A should be OK, but trying to edit a file while it's on the A drive will quickly use up all the available space on A, and causes corruption in the process. So, Save to A is OK. Opening a file on A to edit it, is not OK because of all the temporary files that Word will create. It's the space available that becomes the problem; nothing else. HTH Pop > > Quite a lot has been written about avoiding corruption of > > documents, and one piece of advice has been "do not save [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > invoke this procedure from a hot key while in Windows > > Explorer (where I currently do this manually)? TIA The main problem with using floppies is that they don't offer much space. Others are that they are a lot slower than disk access, and that the user might take the medium out before everything has been written and temp files have been cleaned up. I have heard from Microsoft that they did a lot of work on the issues with removable media (floppys, memory sticks...) in recent versions, and that it is less problematic today. Personally I still avoid to work on removeable media (including to open/save files on them directly from Word). You could write a macro, but I'm not sure it is worth the trouble. You can copy the file path from Word's File dialogs (right-click on the file, Properties > Location), and paste it into the Explorer. Greetings, Klaus > Quite a lot has been written about avoiding corruption of documents, and > one piece of advice has been "do not save to A: from Word (though from [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > TIA The reasons were mainly that floppies are (relatively) VERY slow to read or write and not the most reliable media. When Word saves (especially in older versions), it needs to build up the saved file and it does this by creating a temporary file in the target folder gradually adding or overwriting bits until it has a complete file. This is then rewritten and saved as the document file. But the temp file is locked and active until the document is fully closed and Word/Windows releases the temp file. Problems become serious if the file is fairly large or the floppy is partially filled because the document file and the temp files may have insufficient room to co-exist on the floppy. To make matters worse, simultaneous reading and writing to the floppy is happening at the very slow rate of the floppy drive. So all in all, it was hardly surprising that floppies were a disaster with Word! The best and safest solution for you is to write your macro to save the file to the main HDD and then COPY or MOVE it to the mem stick. Although Word is not so demanding these days, problems still do occur. I have a colleague who has now twice corrupted large documents using a memory stick to move between home and work to continue working on a document. You now know the risks! SignatureTerry Farrell - Word MVP http://word.mvps.org/ : Quite a lot has been written about avoiding corruption of documents, and : one piece of advice has been "do not save to A: from Word (though from [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] : : TIA Thank you, Terry. I had part of it right but you said it ever so much better than I would have. SignatureJoAnn Paules MVP Microsoft [Publisher] > The reasons were mainly that floppies are (relatively) VERY slow to read > or [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > : > : TIA I take it that you all see no problem in copying and pasting within Windows Explorer then (rather than via a Macro in Word). Or, another thought, can one access Windows Explorer from Word, do it there, and come back again - all in a Macro? > The reasons were mainly that floppies are (relatively) VERY slow to read or > write and not the most reliable media. When Word saves (especially in older [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > : > : TIA No, because the file is then closed. There should also not be any problem using a macro to copy a closed file. SignatureHope this helps. Please reply to the newsgroup unless you wish to avail yourself of my services on a paid consulting basis. Doug Robbins - Word MVP >I take it that you all see no problem in copying and pasting within > Windows Explorer then (rather than via a Macro in Word). Or, another [quoted text clipped - 51 lines] >> : >> : TIA You can also do it from the File, Open or File, SaVeAs dialog from Word. Right-click on the file and use Sent To, Drive X. Terry :I take it that you all see no problem in copying and pasting within : Windows Explorer then (rather than via a Macro in Word). Or, another [quoted text clipped - 40 lines] : > : : > : TIA Sorry Guys, now I'm really confused! Surely it has been said here that saving to A: or even E: direct from Word is likely to cause corruption. Therefore 'save as' is not right (which is what I used to do). But copying from C: to E: under Windows Explorer is OK away from Word. Then my question was: can we use a macro in Word to get temporarily out of it to Windows Explorer and then do the copy and then return, like System used to get you out of BASIC (shows age <g>) and let you do things in DOS and then return. Alternatively, can I make some form of macro that will operate from a hot key when in Windows Explorer? BTW, I have got VB5. This would be OK as I spend a lot of time in Explorer... > You can also do it from the File, Open or File, SaVeAs dialog from Word. > Right-click on the file and use Sent To, Drive X. [quoted text clipped - 61 lines] > : > : > : > : TIA If the document is closed, you can right-click on the filename in Word's File Open dialog and use Send To to send (copy) it to any drive (or any other location). that's on your Send To menu. SignatureSuzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all may benefit. > Sorry Guys, now I'm really confused! Surely it has been said here that > saving to A: or even E: direct from Word is likely to cause corruption. [quoted text clipped - 74 lines] > > : > : > > : > : TIA > If the document is closed, you can right-click on the > filename in Word's File Open dialog and use Send To to send > (copy) it to any drive (or any other location). that's on > your Send To menu. That's an extremely useful tip that many people overlook! I forget it myself from time to time. This is one of those times<G>. Pop > > Sorry Guys, now I'm really confused! Surely it has been > > said here that saving to A: or even E: direct from Word [quoted text clipped - 81 lines] > > > > > > > > > > > > TIA > Sorry Guys, now I'm really confused! Surely it has been > said here that saving to A: or even E: direct from Word is > likely to cause corruption. That depends on the size of the file and whether or not you are editing it on that drive. Save To simply writes to the target drive. Nothing wrong with that and it's very similar in context to a Copy except hte file is open. BUT, after you've done a Save As, do NOT continue to edit the file, because you will now be editing ON that drive. Save As has to be the LAST save you do. Which means, of course, also Save a copy of the same thing to the C or D or whatever drive it started out on, for further editing in the future. So using the Save As method, you effectively have to save twice to keep it all in sync. So, Save As, though it works, is not a panacea. Copying the closed file is the best method. Therefore 'save as' is not > right (which is what I used to do). But copying from C: to > E: under Windows Explorer is OK away from Word. Copying a closed file is OK from any app anywhere. Word does not have a Copy function, afaik. Then my > question was: can we use a macro in Word to get temporarily > out of it to Windows Explorer and then do the copy and then > return, like System used to get you out of BASIC (shows age > <g>) and let you do things in DOS and then return. Yes, a VB script or macro or windows script or even a batch file could do that. > Alternatively, can I make some form of macro that will > operate from a hot key when in Windows Explorer? BTW, I > have got VB5. This would be OK as I spend a lot of time in > Explorer... Yes, that will suffice. So would a batch file if you'd rather write that. Either way, you need to be copying a closed file, that's all. Once they're closed it doesn't much matter what created them. You might also want a script to pull the file back off A or E for when you want to do further edits to it. It could do the copy and start Word for you. I do not write scripts for others though; sorry. If you know VB a little, you might enjoy RemoteKeys at http://www.freewarehits.de/ Caveat: I believe it's unsupported and not all the documentation is in English, but it's bug free near as I can tell and incredibly useful. Handles both mouse/keyboard macros at same time. Takes a few minutes to get your head around, but once you do, it's very easy to use. It can even be activated when an app starts, or by a hot key you decide on. Incredible program, IMO. Like I said, not supported, though; the author seems to have moved on but left his site behind. HTH Pop > > You can also do it from the File, Open or File, SaVeAs > > dialog from Word. Right-click on the file and use Sent [quoted text clipped - 62 lines] > > > > > > > > > > TIA One other problem with saving to A:, though, is that it remains your logged drive till you select another. Removing the floppy from the drive while it's still active can cause problems, though probably not as many problems as can be caused by editing a file on the floppy drive (where you can get into serious trouble if you remove a disk prematurely--that is, before Word is through doing all the file swapping and deleting it does when you close the file). SignatureSuzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all may benefit. > > Sorry Guys, now I'm really confused! Surely it has been > > said here that saving to A: or even E: direct from Word is [quoted text clipped - 125 lines] > > > > > > > > > > > > TIA > One other problem with saving to A:, though, is that it > remains your logged drive till you select another. Removing [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > file swapping and deleting it does when you close the > file). True! Good point, and a good catch. Pop Thanks for that, Pop. >> Sorry Guys, now I'm really confused! Surely it has been >> said here that saving to A: or even E: direct from Word is [quoted text clipped - 122 lines] >> > > > > >> > > > > TIA Send To is not Saving the file: it is MOVING a copy to location X. You are just using the File, Open or File Save dialogs as a way to select the file for the move. Terry : Sorry Guys, now I'm really confused! Surely it has been said here that : saving to A: or even E: direct from Word is likely to cause corruption. [quoted text clipped - 74 lines] : > : > : : > : > : TIA > The reasons were mainly that floppies are (relatively) VERY > slow to read or write and not the most reliable media. When [quoted text clipped - 38 lines] > > > > TIA But over 50% of the things you said are just plain wrong and belong in the myth category; sorry. >> The reasons were mainly that floppies are (relatively) VERY >> slow to read or write and not the most reliable media. When [quoted text clipped - 41 lines] > But over 50% of the things you said are just plain wrong and belong in the > myth category; sorry. But which 50%? So which bits are wrong? There's no myths there. These are facts and observation over many years of using Word, reading MSKB articles and discussions with other Word experts that know far more than me.. tf : > The reasons were mainly that floppies are (relatively) VERY : > slow to read or write and not the most reliable media. When [quoted text clipped - 41 lines] : But over 50% of the things you said are just plain wrong and : belong in the myth category; sorry. |
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