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Following a recent update (sometime in the last month or six weeks), MS Word will now make some sort of change to any Word document I open, about 30 seconds after opening it (the title bar changes, with the "Saved to this PC" being removed from its text).

  • Version Info: Office 365; Word Version 2509 (Build 19231.20216). O/S = Windows 11 (Windows 10 when I posted the question but I updated to see if that would fix it – it didn't!)

No visible change is made and typing Control-Z has no effect. However, when I come to close the document, I am faced with the prompt, "Do you want to save the changes you have made …?"

Further, if I make a copy of a file, open it, wait for the 'change' to occur, then save it … and then use the "DiffChecker" program to compare the new file with the original, there is no difference between them!

Some of the documents have potential 'fields' (hyperlinks to other documents in the same file system) but most do not. I have tried techniques I found from various Google searches – like disabling automatic field updates, 'repairing' the installation, turning off (and/or removing) 'styles', and resetting the "Normal.dot" template file in my user profile – but none of these works.

Has anyone else noticed this recent problem? And does anyone know how to stop it happening?

(I can't 'regress' the update because I use an Office-365 installation provided by my employer, who has an umbrella licence deal with Microsoft.)

The problem is intensely frustrating because I am now not able to distinguish between files that I have modified (and, thus, should save) and those that I haven't changed, which I don't want to save (and thus update the 'Version' number field in the file properties).

Edit: Opening the file in read-only mode (shift+right-click) from Windows or safe mode (control+click) doesn't stop the issue … but opening in protected view does. But having to open all files in protected view is very time-consuming; further, sometimes, I do want to make changes to the file, should I notice an error, for example.

Edit (2): I just created a new Word document on my desktop. I did nothing to the blank document but add two words (Globbery Ghouls) then saved it. When I reopen the file and wait 30-40 seconds, the 'change' still happens. So, it's not connected to the fact that my other files are in a Git repo.

Edit (3): Also (and this may be useful information), once I let the change happen, then save the file, it seems that it doesn't happen again in that session (that is, while the file remains open). So, there seems to be some sort of delayed 'start-up' process occurring.

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  • I have never used this tool, but there is a Diagnostic Data Viewer from Microsoft which can be used when Diagnostic Data is enabled. I notice there is an event called Office.Word.Document.DirtyFlagChanged and I suppose it might be worth looking into and see if it can provide insight as to why and when the document was tagged as dirty. learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-apps/privacy/… Commented 2 days ago
  • Is it this? Commented 2 days ago
  • @LukeSawczak Maybe! I turned off the first (simple) option but that made no difference. However, the "Privacy Settings" are managed by 'my organisation' - so I can't say. I'll talk to my admin crew tomorrow. Commented 2 days ago
  • Does the word file have the option set to embed the used font in the Word file? If so, if the font file updates on your computer, word may see the file in the Word file is outdated and updates it Commented 2 days ago
  • @Ferrybig For almost all files, I have disabled font embedding. Commented 2 days ago

4 Answers 4

Reset to default
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Another user has very recently reported the same behaviour in the Office Support forums:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-gb/answers/questions/5592767/getting-want-to-save-your-changes-in-word-without

On 2 Windows 11 computers in the past few weeks, when closing a document in Word I've been getting "Want to save your changes" without my having made any changes

The accepted answer, posted by Hani-N, a Microsoft staff member, attributes the problem to your current Default Printer setting causing a repagination;

2. Change your default printer:

Word sometimes repaginates documents based on the default printer. Setting it to Microsoft Print to PDF can help avoid this.

  1. Press Windows key + I to open the Settings app.
  2. Click on Bluetooth & devices, then select Printers & scanners.
  3. Find and select Microsoft Print to PDF.
  4. Click Set as default.

...in a follow-up post the OP claimed this seemed to have fixed the problem for them:

I set the default printer to "Microsoft Print to PDF". The 2-page file now didn't suffer from the problem.

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  • Nope. Another good suggestion but, in my case, it hasn't fixed the issue. I don't actually have any physical printers attached to my PC but I still unchecked the "Let Windows select the default printer" and set "Microsoft Print to PDF" as the explicit default (actually, it already was). Still the same behaviour. Commented 2 days ago
  • I also tried other suggestion from the linked Office Support forum (such as disabling add-ins and turning off automatic field updates) but the problem persists. Commented 2 days ago
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    @AdrianMole I suggest using tools like ProcMon, ETW, or Windows DTrace to monitor what Word is actually doing, which might help. Commented 2 days ago
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    I think this answer is very close. There are suggestions online (e.g. Google's AI thing) that suggest unchecking the "Enable background repagination" option (in File->Options->Advanced). However, that box is checked and disabled in my Word installation! Ugh! So, how would I enable that control so that I can uncheck it? Commented 2 days ago
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    @AdrianMole As a former software eng at Microsoft myself, I’ll say that is not the case: when a bug is reported through support channels the dollar-value of the user’s M365 subscription contract is utterly irrelevant; what does matter is the impact scale, reproducibility, and quality (I.e. specificity) of the report. A good report from an unlicensed warez user will get fixed before a vague “It’s not working” report from a million-dollar business customer. Commented yesterday
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  • Look to some extension to Word, whether added by you or your employer.

  • Try a workaround:

    • Open a document initially as read-only. Afterwards, if it must be edited, open it read/write.
    • Open a copy of the document.
    • Put documents in a folder that has access set to read-only, until you're ready to edit.
    • One likely not approved by your employer: install free LibreOffce, which can open and edit MS docs without pernicious undesired changes.
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  • Opening in read-only mode doesn't fix the problem. The change is still made and I'm still prompted to save when I close the file. Although opening in 'protected view' does seem to stop it happening. Commented Oct 29 at 14:07
  • Also, opening in "Safe Mode" (which disables extensions) does not fix the issue. Commented Oct 29 at 14:25
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    Other workarounds added. It's a shame when bad changes are made to a working app. Commented 2 days ago
  • Your suggestions are good ... I already have LibreOffice installed, which I use quite regularly to 'fix' (i.e. remove) the invisible rubbish that Word adds over time to any and all documents. My employer gives me freedom to play with my own PCs but I can't bypass the MS-Office licence arrangements. Commented 2 days ago
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    The read-only folder is not really applicable in my case: I have a number of related docs in many folders - typically, in English and another language, and I use those as sources to create a 'parallel', two-language version. In the course of that merge, I will sometimes come across errors in the source, which I fix and save. Commented 2 days ago
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It's hard to say what happens in the depths of Mordor but this could be consistent with some sort of change in Word related to the file structure. They might have added some kind of cleanup routine for a previous issue.

If this was happening to me, I would:

  1. Make backups of all the files
  2. Open each one (hopefully there aren't too many) and save them without making any changes.

Assuming this doesn't corrupt your files (that's what the backups are for) That should get you back to your normal where opening a file in Word doesn't change it.

Good luck!

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  • As it’s currently written, your answer is unclear. Please edit to add additional details that will help others understand how this addresses the question asked. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center. Commented 2 days ago
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    It's not clear to me what is not clear about this. Seems clear to me. Commented 2 days ago
  • Since "If I use the "DiffChecker" program to compare the new file with the original, there is no difference between them", there is no cleanup happening. This answer may work if you have corrupted files and Word needs to repair them, but it does not seem to apply to the question asked here. Commented 2 days ago
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    @Bergi See my comment on the question. If I 'accept' the change and save the file, then I still get the same problem when I open that modified file, next time. Commented 2 days ago
  • @JimmyJames hopefully there aren't too many .... I have around 800 such files! Saving copies, backups, whatever, just doesn't fix the issue. Word is doing something I don't want or understand. Even saving them in LibreOffice (and then converting to the 'new' format) doesn't solve it. I'm now convinced it's a bug in M/S latest update but I don't know how (or where) to report it. Commented 2 days ago
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Well, I think I have now found a solution to the problem – although I'm not 100% sure and I still don't really know the cause.

On my PC, I have two user profiles ('accounts'), one of which I use for professional work and the other for private/hobby stuff. Both are (or were) linked to my university-provided Microsoft account.

Just a little while ago (earlier today), I was prompted (by Windows) to "sign in" on that second (private) account (this happens from time to time). On this occasion, though, I was presented with a far more thorough login process than usual (involving 6-digit security codes sent to my email and my phone).

After going through that process, and successfully signing in, the username for the Windows account has now changed (from the 'local' name I created it under to the "Adrian Mole" that is registered in my university account). And Word now behaves differently: the "Saved to this PC" part of the text in document title bars now just says "Saved" and – more importantly – the 'invisible change' after 30-40 seconds no longer happens!

When I am in the 'work' (local) account on my PC, I still see the username as the "abc7890" (not real) that I gave it when I created the account and I have not been asked to sign in, recently … and, when using that account, the 'invisible change' bug still occurs.

Now, Word seems to have two 'sources' for user settings and preferences - one stored locally (so, for example, the custom dictionary I use is different for my two local accounts) and one (apparently) that is stored in my Microsoft (university) account. What I need to do, now, is find out which of the latter settings has changed since I went through the sign-in process. I shall report back here (in an edit) as and when I have further information and details.

This may also be an issue with the way my university has set up my account. As it happens, there are two different Microsoft accounts with the same email address – one is the university-provided account (used by the "work" local account) and another, which I created many years ago and haven't really used for many years. That latter account almost certainly doesn't have full 'Enterprise' access to Office 365 so, if my 'private' local account is now using that, I'm not sure why it still gives me full access.

This is now something I feel I need to chase up with my IT support team and (probably) also with Microsoft account support.

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