PUB98: Troubleshooting Corrupt Publications

Try the following methods to attempt to recover the damaged file. The Methods listed below are grouped as follows:

• General Troubleshooting.
• If You Are Unable to Open a Publication.
• If You Are Able to Open a Damaged Publication.

Follow the procedures in the General Troubleshooting section first.

NOTE: Although some of these troubleshooting steps can be used in Windows NT, many are targeted for Windows 95.

General Troubleshooting

Restart Windows in Safe Mode and then attempt to open your publication. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Restart the computer. When you see the "Starting Windows 95" message, press the F8 key, and then select Command Prompt Only from the Startup menu.
   
   NOTE: If Windows starts, edit the Autoexec.bat file, remove or disable the "win" line, and repeat step 1.
2. Start Windows 95 with a minimal set of Windows drivers by typing the following command at the command prompt:
   win /d:m
   NOTE: If you need networking components to start Windows 95, type the following command:
   win /d:n

If you are able to open your publication after Windows has started in Safe Mode, then a system conflict exists that is preventing you from opening your publication.

If You Are Unable to Open a Publication

If you are unable to open your publication after following the procedure in the "General Troubleshooting" section, try one of the following methods.

Method 1: Drag the Publication to the Publisher Program File

1. Determine the location of the Publisher program on your computer. By default, Publisher 98 is installed in the following folder:
   C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office
2. Drag the damaged publication to the Publisher program icon.

Method 2: Double-Click the Publication in Windows Explorer

1. On the Windows Start menu, point to Programs, and then click Windows Explorer.
2. Double-click the publication.

Method 3: Hide Pictures in Publisher

1. Start Microsoft Publisher, and click Exit Catalog.
2. On the View menu, click Picture Display.
3. Click Hide Pictures and click OK.
4. On the File menu, click Open. Click the Existing Publications tab.
5. Select your damaged publication and click Open.

When you open your publication, note that each graphic will be represented by a large "X." If you were able to open your publication, you may have a damaged picture or object placeholder. Follow these steps to find and remove the damaged picture or object placeholder:

1. Delete several picture placeholders.
2. On the File menu, click Save As. In the Name box, type a new name for your file and click Save.
3. On the View menu, click Picture Display.
4. Click Detailed Display and then click OK.
   
   If you receive an error message at this point, go to step 7.
5. On the File menu, click Close.
6. On the File menu, click Open, and then select the publication you saved in step 2.
   
   If you receive an error message at this point, go to step 7. If you are able to open the publication, one of the objects you deleted in step 1 is damaged. Turn on the Hide Pictures option (on the View menu, click Picture Display), open your original publication, and delete the picture or object placeholder.
7. On the View menu, click Picture Display, click Hide pictures and click OK.
8. Repeat steps 1 through 7 until you are able to open your publication.

Method 4: Attempt to Insert Text into a Blank Publication

NOTE: This method recovers the text only from your publication. Therefore, you will have to recreate the layout and reinsert any graphics you want.

1. On the File menu, click New, and then click the Blank Publications tab.
2. Click Full Page, and then click Create.
3. Using the Text Frame Tool, draw a text frame on the blank page.
4. On the Insert menu, click Text File.
5. From the Files Of Type list, select Publisher files.
6. Select your publication and click OK.

Method 5: Move the File to Another Computer

In some cases, you may be able to open the publication after copying it to another computer. If you can open the file, examine each page to see if there are any blank object placeholders and delete them. Save your publication and then copy it to the original computer.

Method 6: Move the File to Another Disk

Windows may not be able to read the file from where it is currently saved. Try copying the file to another disk. For example, copy the file from a floppy disk to the hard disk.

NOTE: If you are unable to copy the file from the disk on which it is saved, it may be cross-linked with other files or folders, or it may be located in a damaged sector of the disk. If this is the case, try Method 7.

Method 7: Run ScanDisk

Run ScanDisk to repair all errors on the disk. Have it repair all cross-linked files and convert lost fragments to files.

NOTE: Even though ScanDisk may determine that your file is cross-linked and repair it, this is not a guarantee that Publisher will be able to read the file.

If You Are Able to Open a Damaged Publication

If you are able to open your publication after following the procedure in the "General Troubleshooting" section, try one of the following methods.

Method 1: Paste the Pages from the Damaged File into a New File

Use a copy and paste operation to move the slides from the damaged publication to a blank publication. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open the damaged publication in Microsoft Publisher.
2. Open another instance of Microsoft Publisher, and create a blank publication of the same type as your damaged publication.
3. In the damaged publication, select all the objects on the page.
4. On the Edit menu, click Copy.
5. Switch to the new publication, by pressing ALT+TAB.
6. On the Edit menu, click Paste.
7. Repeat steps 3 through 6 until all pages are transferred.

NOTE: In some situations one damaged object may cause problems for the entire publication. If you notice odd behavior in the new publication after copying a page to it, that page most likely contains a corrupted object. Either recreate the page or copy separate portions of the page to the new publication.

Method 2: Save the Publication as RTF (Rich Text Format)

If the corruption is throughout the publication, try saving the publication in RTF format. If successful, this method recovers only the text. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open your publication.
2. Select a text frame.
3. On the File menu, click Save As. Click to select "Save all text as file."
4. From the Save File As Type list, select Rich Text Format.
5. In the File Name box, type the name you want. Pick the folder in which you want to save your file. Click Save.
6. Close the publication.

NOTE: To continue working after you save the file in RTF format, click Open on the File menu, click More Files, and select Rich Text Format or All Files in the List Files Of Type list.

For additional information, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

If you are experiencing unexpected behavior when working with a Microsoft Publisher file, your publication may be damaged or corrupted. Symptoms of a corrupted publication include the following:

• Invalid Page Fault, General Protection Fault, and Illegal Instruction errors.
• Error messages, such as "Publisher cannot open the file," when you attempt to open a publication.
• Out of memory or low system resources errors.

NOTE: In some cases you may receive the above symptoms for reasons other than a corrupted publication.

If this behavior is exclusive to one publication, the publication may be corrupted. This article provides some common steps you can use to attempt to recover a damaged publication. Note, that in some cases, you may not be able to recover a damaged file. If this is the case, you will have to recreate the publication.