October 9, 2024 at 12:55PM
Microsoft has resolved a bug in Word for Microsoft 365 that deleted documents with filenames containing the # symbol or capitalized extensions. Affected users are advised to restart Office apps. Workarounds include checking the recycle bin and adjusting settings to prevent prompts that caused the issue.
**Meeting Takeaways: Microsoft Word Document Deletion Issue**
1. **Issue Description**:
– A known bug in Microsoft Word for Microsoft 365 (version 2409, build 18025.20104) caused documents to be deleted instead of saved for certain users. This occurred when the filenames included the # symbol or had capitalized extensions (.DOCX, .RTF).
2. **Impact**:
– The bug specifically affected users when closing Word after editing and saving their documents.
3. **Confirmation and Fix**:
– Microsoft confirmed the deletion issue following user reports and has implemented a fix via a service change.
– Users are advised to restart all Office apps to apply the fix. If issues persist, they should close and re-open Word.
4. **Workarounds**:
– Check the recycle bin for deleted files.
– Manually save documents before closing Word.
– Change settings to disable the “Backstage” prompt that may lead to saving issues by adjusting options in File > Options > Save.
– To revert to a previous version, users can utilize Command Prompt with specific commands.
5. **Additional Context**:
– Microsoft also addressed other issues in recent months, including Gmail sign-in problems for Outlook and crashes in various Microsoft 365 apps related to typing and spell-checking.
6. **Action Items**:
– Encourage affected users to restart their Office applications.
– Share the workaround options for users who may still experience issues.
Please ensure this information is disseminated to all relevant teams and users.