Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 29, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021
When David double-clicks some of the Word files on his computer, they open in about 3 seconds, but others take about 10 seconds to open. He has compared the faster- and slower-opening versions but can't detect any difference. He wonders what he can do to get the 10-second files to open faster.
When David mentions that he cannot detect any difference between the faster- and slower-opening versions, I'm assuming that means the documents are roughly the same. For instance, they are about the same number of pages, both have about the same number of graphics, both have the same number of tables, etc.
If this is the case, then the most probable cause of the difference in loading speed is where the documents are stored. Not all storage devices are as speedy as one another, and this can play into how quickly your documents load. For example, if you compare load speeds for a document on your local system vs. one stored on a network drive, the local file will invariably load quicker. Further, files on an SSD drive will load faster than those on a mechanical drive, which load quicker than ones on an external hard drive, which load faster than those on a USB flash drive, which load faster than those on a network drive.
If the files are actually on the same drive media, then there is one final thing that is often overlooked when comparing files—there could be external links in one document that are not in the other. Those links will often be refreshed when a file is opened, which can slow down the loading speed.
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2018-05-14 04:53:20
Richard Price
Another factor is not just where the document is stored, but where the template is stored - and this can lead to very slow opening if the template cannot be accessed, for example if it's on a network drive that no longer exists or is not currently accessible. To check this, once you've got the document open select File -> Options -> Add-ins, then Templates on the drop-down. If the 'Document template' field contains 'Normal' that's not the problem (presumably your Normal template is readily accessible), but if it says anything else simply delete that and click OK then save the document. There's no need to remain connected to the original template once the document has been created (in fact I've never understood why Word does maintain that connection).
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