# Microsoft Word question - help!!! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 30, 2001, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-word-question-help/79008 "2001-08-30T21:09:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rundogrun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5daacb/32.png) [@rundogrun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rundogrun)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-word-question-help/79008/1 "2001-08-30T21:09:23Z")
Apparantly, if you’re having problems with their software, you have to pay them for the answers. Some tech support. They must really love their customers. My menu bar and tool bar were both gone today when I opened up Word (from office 2000). I was able to get myself to customize toolbars, however there was no “Standard” one. While I can build a new toolbar, clearly something is wrong. Worse, however, is the absence of a “Menu” bar, which according to “Help” can’t be hidden. Hmm…wanna bet? Any thoughts? I have to get a report out tomorrow! ---
**Author:** ![keno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f9ae1b/32.png) [@keno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/keno)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-word-question-help/79008/2 "2001-08-30T21:21:25Z")
Did you try the menu command View -\> Toolbars? If that didn’t work, I’d reboot ---
**Author:** ![rundogrun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5daacb/32.png) [@rundogrun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rundogrun)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-word-question-help/79008/3 "2001-08-30T21:29:04Z")
That’s part of the problem…I have no menu bar, hence no menu commands! Rebooting momentarily… ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-word-question-help/79008/4 "2001-08-30T21:37:36Z")
The menu bar can be moved around, though. Look all over your screen - is it hiding on the sides or the bottom? ---
**Author:** ![redtail23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3e96dc/32.png) [@redtail23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/redtail23)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-word-question-help/79008/5 "2001-08-30T21:39:41Z")
Yup, you went to Full Screen, most likely. Press [Alt]-[V]. That should give you your View menu; you can arrow down to toggle off the Full Screen mode. Or toggle on whatever you turned off. (I don’t think reboot will help, but I could be wrong.) I can’t remember what causes it specifically - you hit some function key that ya shoudna, I think. ---
**Author:** ![rundogrun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5daacb/32.png) [@rundogrun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rundogrun)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-word-question-help/79008/6 "2001-08-30T21:55:04Z")
**Athena** - no…I’ve looked all over…it’s not sneaking around anywhere. **redtail23** I tried Alt+V but nothing happened. I’m able to do some Alt commands…but unfortunately not this one. For the record…rebooting didn’t have any effect. ---
**Author:** ![redtail23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3e96dc/32.png) [@redtail23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/redtail23)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-word-question-help/79008/7 "2001-08-30T21:59:01Z")
Alt-V doesn’t work at all?? That’s really bizarre. What Alt commands _do_ work? Can you get any of the menus? ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-word-question-help/79008/8 "2001-08-30T22:17:10Z")
Search for a file called normal.dot. If you hvae one, delete it and restart Word. The default toolbar settings should be restored. ---
**Author:** ![rundogrun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5daacb/32.png) [@rundogrun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rundogrun)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-word-question-help/79008/9 "2001-08-30T22:19:32Z")
Actually, none of the Alt commands work. It’s the ctrl+ ones normally found under the file menu that still do. I can open and close and print no problem. But no File menu. Shift + f10 will give me some of the edit and font options in a pull down screen fashion. But that’s about it… ---
**Author:** ![rundogrun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5daacb/32.png) [@rundogrun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rundogrun)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-word-question-help/79008/10 "2001-08-30T22:22:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dooku \* > \*\*Search for a file called normal.dot. If you hvae one, delete it and restart Word. The default toolbar settings should be restored. \*\* Found, deleted, restarted, but sadly still no menu or toolbar. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-word-question-help/79008/11 "2001-08-30T22:36:10Z")
OK let’s try this: goto the Registry (Start | Run, type “regedit”)and search for: HKEY\_CURRENT\_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Word\Data Select the Data folder, then goto Edit | Rename, rename the folder something like “XXXData” Quit the Registry and restart Word. NOTE: Try not to touch anything else in the Registry - it can really hose you to start changing or deleting things in there. ---
**Author:** ![mblackwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5fc32e/32.png) [@mblackwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mblackwell)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-word-question-help/79008/12 "2001-08-30T22:40:10Z")
You could try this. Open the control panel. Open Add/Remove programs. Select MS Office form the list. Click Add/Remove. Click Repair Office. ---
**Author:** ![rundogrun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5daacb/32.png) [@rundogrun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rundogrun)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-word-question-help/79008/13 "2001-08-30T23:18:21Z")
**Dooku** Bless your soul! That last one did it! Thanks everyone for your help!!! ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2001, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-word-question-help/79008/14 "2001-08-31T15:00:09Z")
You can also reinstall it, it should preserve the special files.