Member Avatar for Mean

I have a Dell Latitude C840 (P4 1.6 with 1Gb RAM and 60+GB hdd)


I'm not sure if this is the correct forum, but I didn't see anything similar to my issue. Here goes:


A user at my company has a word document. The size of the document is 754k. There are several flowcharts and graphs embedded in the doc with all kinds of watermarking and headers...basically a pretty complex document that has been built on for a while between several users.

The user complained that when he scrolled down in the document, word would lock up. I had him email the offending doc to me. It does the same thing on my box that it does on his. I scrolled down through the document and when I hit a certain page, word would lock up. WINWORD.EXE showed to be using 99% of the CPU.

A colleague got involved on the task and found that if he removed a particular embedded object he could scroll up and down at his leisure without locking up. I found that the object was a Visio drawing.

The second I remove the drawing, winword releases the CPU.

I've deleted Normal.dot, I've cut and pasted the entire document into a blank one, I've run Ontrack EasyRecovery File Repair...nothing works except for removing the visio object.

Any idea as to what could cause this problem? Obviously the visio object is a big part of the problem, but there must be a reason for it.

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Short annotated summary and practical next steps based on the thread

The symptom described by — winword.exe pegging the CPU until the embedded Visio object is removed — is a classic OLE/in-place-activation issue: Word asks the Visio “server” to render the object inline, and a complex or corrupted Visio OLE stream can force Visio’s rendering code to chew CPU while Word waits. See Microsoft’s description of in‑place activation for embedded objects. (Implementing in‑place activation). (learn.microsoft.com)

A concise, low-risk troubleshooting sequence (in roughly the order to try)

  • Disable add-ins / test in Safe Mode to rule out a third‑party hook interfering with OLE activation (a common first step in Microsoft support threads). (learn.microsoft.com)
  • Temporarily show picture placeholders or otherwise stop Word from rendering embedded graphics while scrolling (older Word: Tools → Options → View → Picture placeholders; newer Word: File → Options → Advanced → Show picture placeholders). This reduces repaint/OLE work while investigating. (learn.microsoft.com)
  • Use Word’s recovery tools on a copy of the file: File → Open, select the doc and choose the Open and Repair option; alternatively extract the text with “Recover Text from Any File” if needed. Microsoft documents these standard recovery steps. (learn.microsoft.com)
  • If editing the Visio content inside the document is required (rather than a static image), try converting/cleaning the Visio object: right‑click → Visio Object → Convert or open the embedded object in Visio, copy its shapes into a brand‑new Visio drawing, save that file, then reinsert (this often removes hidden/broken OLE baggage). Community and Microsoft guidance shows this approach frequently fixes embedded Visio problems. (learn.microsoft.com)

Workflow/format tradeoffs and final notes

  • For collaborative workflows, linking to a single canonical .vsd/.vsdx (Insert → Object → Create from File → Link to file) keeps the Word file smaller and avoids storing a potentially damaged embedded OLE stream; if the diagram must be editable in‑place, re‑creating it in Visio and re‑embedding as a clean object is the safest fix. (support.microsoft.com)
  • If preserving exact layout is mandatory but in‑document editing is not, pasting as a vector picture (Paste Special → Picture (Enhanced Metafile)) preserves quality while removing OLE complexity. Keep Office/Visio patched to the latest service packs; many OLE/display fixes were shipped in updates.

Tie‑back: the working fix reported (moving the diagram into a fresh Visio drawing and reinserting) matches the standard remediation above and is the least intrusive way to eliminate a corrupt OLE payload while preserving editability. (learn.microsoft.com)

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for caperjack

I know nothing about viso drawings and word!
Just searched a bit and found this ,about how to add aviso drawing to a word doc.
It may be that when it comes to the viso drawing it is trying to axcess a viso viewer to view the drawing !
I am no dought way off with this!!

Viso viewer .

Member Avatar for DMR

If the Visio drawing only needs to appear in Word as a static picture, try using the "Save As..." in Visio to save the document/drawing as a JPEG. Then embed the converted JPEG file instead of the original Visio-format file.

Member Avatar for Mean

I actually converted the file to a JPG and embedded it, and it worked. The user says that the document is shared and modified by several parties and they want to be able to make changes to the Visio drawing from within the document.

When you right click on the image you have a selection that allows you to open the object in Visio. If you modify it from there and save it, the image is automatically updated in the document. So, this document along with the Visio drawing has mutated over the course of several months.

I am about to try removing the drawing, saving it in Visio 2003 then reinserting it into the document on its own blank page.

I'll keep you posted :-)


Thanques

Member Avatar for DMR

I was afraid that would be the situation. Visio and Word are two pretty humungous applications; I'm not surprised that things bog down when you're manipulating a file made in one program through the other.

Let us know if your idea works, though.

Member Avatar for Mean

Well, I inserted a page break, rearranged the text that described the visio object (Figure #1), deleted the object from the doc and pasted into a new Visio drawing then moved it back into the document on the blank page.

Lo and behold, the document doesn't choke word down when I scroll. Unfortunately, however, the document is owned by the legal departments of two separate corporate entities who most likely won't accept the change to the format.

Oh, well. Sometimes you're the windshield...

Member Avatar for DMR

Well, I inserted a page break, rearranged the text that described the visio object (Figure #1), deleted the object from the doc and pasted into a new Visio drawing then moved it back into the document on the blank page.

Good job!


Lo and behold, the document doesn't choke word down when I scroll. Unfortunately, however, the document is owned by the legal departments of two separate corporate entities who most likely won't accept the change to the format.

Oh no- *groan*... :eek:


Oh, well. Sometimes you're the windshield...

Yup- some days you eat the bear, some days the bear eats you. :mrgreen:

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