Technology in terms you understand. Sign up for the Confident Computing newsletter for weekly solutions to make your life easier. Click here and get The Ask Leo! Guide to Staying Safe on the Internet — FREE Edition as my thank you for subscribing!

Why will opening one document sometimes open more than one?

Question:

I’ve a shortcut on my desktop for several Word Perfect docs that I use
frequently. I’ve encountered something weird and have no explanation why it
would happen, so maybe you could tell me. When I click on the icon for one file,
it opens two different files. Sometimes more. For example, I’m clicking on the
icon for file X and Word Perfect opens up File X. However, if I go to a window in
the menu and check, there are two files open that I can swap between. I think
it’s mostly Word Perfect documents, but I seem to remember Word doing it, too.
I’m using Vista, SP2, 64-bit and Word Perfect 11. The second file looks to be
the last one I had open, but that doesn’t hold true for all the links, one just
opens the file I’m actually clicking on.

In this excerpt from
Answercast #48
, I look at a case where multiple files seem to be opening in
Word Perfect. It might be a simple setting in the program.

Become a Patron of Ask Leo! and go ad-free!

Multiple docs opened

I believe the clue is actually what you just described.

  • I do believe that the program is simply opening up the windows that it had
    opened when it was last closed.

Now, I’m not a Word Perfect expert, don’t get me wrong. Don’t consider this
authoritative on Word Perfect behavior, but I do know of many programs that do
exactly that.

Opening recent files

The scenario is simply this:

  • You open up files A, B, and C and then you close the program.

  • The next time you start the program, it automatically re-opens files A, B,
    and, C.

Now, if you have a shortcut to file D and you use that to open the program,
my expectation is that:

  • It is then opening D;

  • And also the last windows it had opened as well (including A, B, and C.)

So, I think that this is simply the way the program is written, the way the
program is designed to work. It’s a little non-intuitive.

When only one file opens…

My guess is (and again this is just a guess) that the scenario you’re seeing
where you have a shortcut that opens up only one file:

  • It’s very possible that you actually closed all of the other files
    the last time you used the program.

  • So that there was nothing for it to re-open automatically.

Like I said, that’s a guess. It is behavior that I have seen in
applications, certainly word processing applications.

I’m not sure again about Word Perfect specifically, but it is behavior
that would in fact explain what you’re seeing.

End of Answercast #48 Back to –
Audio Segment

Do you have a question about your computer, the internet, technology? Head
on out to ask-leo.com and start by searching
the thousands of questions that are already answered out there. If you can’t
find what you’re looking for, then head out to ask-leo.com/ask to ask your question. I might even
answer it here on a future AnswerCast.

While you’re there, sign up for my email newsletter where you’ll get:

  • Twice weekly doses of fixes to problems;
  • Tips to avoid getting into trouble;
  • And even the occasional answer to “why things are the way they are.”

Back up!

If you take away only one lesson from anything I ever say, please let it be
about backing up. Nothing can save you from almost any disaster like a proper
and recent backup.

Please do realize that all answers are based on my own personal experience
and should be used entirely at your own risk. I just don’t know you or
abilities or the specifics of your machine – and those kinds of details can
really make a huge difference.

The Ask Leo!
Answercast
is a production of Ask Leo! and it’s copyright 2012. Thanks for
listening. I’m Leo Notenboom and I’ll be back soon with another Ask Leo!
Answercast.

Do this

Subscribe to Confident Computing! Less frustration and more confidence, solutions, answers, and tips in your inbox every week.

I'll see you there!

1 thought on “Why will opening one document sometimes open more than one?”

  1. Thanks for answering my question Leo. Just thought I’d let you know what else I found out. I believe your answer was on the right track. In WP there is an option to automatically save your “environment” and your environment is everything that you’re doing at the time. When I changed the setting to never save the environment, the problem was solved. Thanks again for tackling this.

    Reply

Leave a reply:

Before commenting please:

  • Read the article.
  • Comment on the article.
  • No personal information.
  • No spam.

Comments violating those rules will be removed. Comments that don't add value will be removed, including off-topic or content-free comments, or comments that look even a little bit like spam. All comments containing links and certain keywords will be moderated before publication.

I want comments to be valuable for everyone, including those who come later and take the time to read.