How to Make a Copy of a Word Document

Abhishek Kumar Mishra March 6, 2024

There are many scenarios in which making a copy of a Word document is sensible. When editing, for instance, having a duplicate is wise just in case you make an error. Other times, you might want a copy of the original document to use as a template. But there are other methods apart from the usual file duplication to create a copy of a Word document.

How to Duplicate a Word Document

From an Existing One Using Copy and Paste

The easiest way to duplicate a Word document is by simply copying the file in the same or a different folder. Open the File Explorer app and visit the location where the Word file exists (usually the Document folder). Right-click on it and select the Copy option. Paste the copied Word document in your preferred folder in the C or any other drive.

By Opening it as a New One

Here’s how to make a copy of a Word document by opening it as a new file:

Press the Windows key + E to open the File Explorer.
Navigate to the folder of the Word document and click on it.
Right-click on the Word file and select the New option.
A new document named “Document 1” will open on Word.
Select the File option in the top right corner.
Choose the Save option from the drop-down menu.
A dialogue box will appear. Type the “File name” and select the location to save it.
Click on the Save button.

If you want to clear the clutter from the Open Files section, you can clear the recent documents section in Microsoft Word.

By Opening It as a Copy

Here are the steps for making a duplicate Word document by opening it as a copy:

Open a blank Word document.
Navigate to the upper left corner and click on the File option.
Select the Open option from the drop-down menu.
Choose the Browse option and click on the Word document to select it.
Click the arrow icon next to the Open button. Select the Open as copy option.
The new document will open with “Copy” in its file name.

If you are bored with the current font style, you can easily change the default font in Microsoft Word.

By Copying and Pasting Text Within the Word Document

Here’s how to make a duplicate file of a Word document by copy-pasting within the original:

Open the Word document you want to duplicate.
Click at the beginning of the Word document and drag the cursor to the end. Alternatively, click anywhere in the document and press Ctrl + A shortcut to select all the text.
Right-click and select the Copy option or press Ctrl + C.
Press Ctrl + N to open a new blank document.
Right-click and select the Paste option. Alternatively, press Ctrl + V to paste the copied text.

How to Duplicate a Word Document with Tracked Changes

When you open the Word document that used the Track Changes feature previously, the above copy-and-paste method might fail to include the changes. If you select all the text, it will also copy the discarded text in a strikethrough format. Here’s how to make a copy of a document with tracked changes:

Open the Word document with tracked changes.
Navigate to the menu bar at the top and select the Review option.
Click on the Changes option. Alternatively, press the Ctrl + Shift + E shortcut to enable it.
Press Ctrl + A to select all the text. Then, press Ctrl + C to copy it.
Open a new blank document. Press Ctrl + V to paste the copied text with tracked changes.
Press the F12 key to open the Save as dialog box.
Enter the file’s name and select the location. Click the Save button.

How to Make a Word Document Copy on OneDrive

If you use OneDrive to store your Word files, here’s how to duplicate a file directly on it:

Open your browser and load the OneDrive sign-in page.
Enter your Microsoft account email and password, and click the Sign-in button.
Select OneDrive from the home page to access your files.
Choose the Word document you want to duplicate.
Click on the More options (three vertical dots) button.
Select the Copy to option from the drop-down menu.
Choose a destination folder in OneDrive and click on the Copy here button.

Also, you can download the file to your local storage as follows:

Go to the Word file you want to copy and click on the three vertical dots button.
Choose the Download option to save the file on your PC.

Common Issues You Might Face When Making a Word Document Copy

When making a copy of a Word document, you may encounter some errors. Here are some errors to look out for and how to solve them.

Read-Only Document

A document that’s in read-only mode prevents you from making edits. If you want to make some changes before making a duplicate, this might limit you. Usually, a document with this error has a yellow ribbon at the top.

Locate it and click on the Enable editing button. Afterward, try to type in the document to see if you’ve successfully removed the block.

Permission Issues

You might get an error when saving your duplicate Word document, which says, “You don’t have permission to save in this location.” To fix this, you have to adjust the location’s permission settings:

Open the File Explorer and navigate to the folder that has permission issues.
Right-click on the folder and choose the Properties option.
Switch to the Security tab.
Go to the bottom right and click on the Advanced option.
On the advanced settings page, click on the Change option.
Select the Advanced option.
Click on the Find now button to display the list of all the users.
Select your user name from the list and click on OK.
Choose the “Replace users on subcontainers and objects” check box and click on the Apply button.
Select the Edit option and check Allow on all control options linked to your computer.
Click on the OK button to grant all permissions to the folder.

Make Word Copies Effortlessly

Microsoft Word is an indispensable tool when it comes to document management. Its simple, user-friendly interface allows you to duplicate backup files for your work projects or academic purposes. Moreover, you have more than one option to choose from to get the job done.

FAQs

How do I copy an entire Word document at once?

Press Ctrl + A to select everything in the Word Document. Then. press the Ctrl + C keyboard shortcut to copy the selected part. Then, paste the copied data into a new Word document.