Name of file opened, being viewed

[whytheheck]

I transitioned from Windows 7 to Windows 11, and from Office 2010 to Office 2021 Pro. Having a difficult time! This is my second post.

1. In Word 2010, when a file was open, I could read its name at the top of the window. In Word 2021, there's no file name at the top. Is there a way to reinstate that feature? This might be related to my second question.

2. If I open a file by various methods (File > Open; browse Documents; etc.) and select a named document (old docs, newly created docs using Word 2021, anything!), it opens in a new window, with no editing buttons, no ribbon. It says Saved to this PC. Clicking the down arrow shows an invitation to Upload the document so I can rename, move, and access version history. "Upload the document"??? This happens even if I've just created a test doc, closed it, then reopened it. How can I get a file to open in Word 2021 as it did in Word 2010, within the program, with the ribbon at the top?

I'm totally stumped by this.

Thanks for any help.

 

[A Fish]

I'm guessing here, but in regards to the 'upload', it sounds as if the document has been saved to OneDrive or something similar, my understanding is that is saved to the cloud rather than on your hard drive. I don't use OneDrive myself, but I do recall when I swapped to 365 that was the default save location - it took me a bit to wrap my head around where my documents were going initially. This might explain why it's asking you to 'upload'?

As far as the file name - it should be visible at the top - unless the Ribbon Display option is set to 'Auto-Hide' - which if I recall was also the default setting. If this is the case though, then there is no menu bar displayed at the top of your document at all unless/until you click on the top of the screen which should drop down all the menu options including the display of the file name. To turn this off so that the top menu is always displayed in a more 'traditional' fashion, click on the icon in the upper right corner that looks like a little folder - it should give you three options. The Auto-Hide option is the only one that makes the file name not visible.

If this is not the case for you, then I am sorry I won't be able to help.

 

[whytheheck]

In the last few days, I've learned that the documents -- new, old, whatever -- are meant to be saved to OneDrive, just as you guessed. I had a OneDrive account years ago but have since uninstalled the program. However, OneDrive maintains its grip on my computer. For Office 2021 users, AutoSave is disabled unless you first store the file on the Microsoft cloud. I use DropBox, but Microsoft doesn't acknowledge its existence.

I now understand that Word (and other Office 2021 components) are/were running in compatibility mode, and the documents would open in a floating window with no ribbon. If I rename a .doc to .docx, it will appear as expected with the ribbon at the top. The weird thing is that once I'd renamed/resaved just a few files, this seems to have resolved all the other yet-to-be-renamed files -- they don't get automatically renamed, but Word opens them within the program window, not floating above. All my old and very old docs now open with the ribbon at the top and show the name of the file.

Thanks for your input.