Microsoft Word 2010 cannot get blank document

Question

Whenever I open Microsoft Word 2010, an old document opens up. It's the same one all the time.

And even if I go and try to open a new document, this same document is alway there.

How do I get rid of it?

Answer 1

As I understand it, all Word documents have a default template. The "normal.dotm" template is a blank document which comes up when you start a new document. Check to see if you mistakenly overwrote the normal template with a previous document. Here is some information about Word 2010 templates:

http://www.laptopmag.com/advice/tips/change-your-default-template-in-word.aspx

Answer 2

As David suggest in another answer, you have likely overwritten the default template. The simplest way to restore it is:

• Close Word
• Delete the normal.dotm (for Word 2007 and newer) or normal.dot (for 2003 and older) file.
• Open Word and a new default template with default settings will be created.

This article describes how to do that in detail.