[100% Effective] Fix “The Name In The End Tag Of The Element Word” Error

End Tag Start Tag Mismatch Error When Opening DOCX Files

Those who are using the MS Word application might run through this strange error “The name in the end tag of the element must match the element type in the start tag” at the time of opening any DOCX file. Well, if you are the one who facing this same issue then you have come to the very correct place. I am saying this is because in this article you will get complete information on how to repair the name in the end tag of the element Word with ease.

But before proceeding further, let’s know something about this issue.

Problem Description:

While opening the Word document you get the error “The file <filename> cannot be opened because of the problems with the contents.

The name of the end tag of the element needs to match the element type in the start tag. The location part is: word/document.xml, Line: 2, Column: 129414″

Error opening Word 2007

This error is related to the XML code that a DOCX file actually consists of. Fortunately, this issue will not result in the loss of your file or its contents, but to make a copy of the file before you start making any changes won’t cost any penny. If you end up messing up with the original file, a back-up file can be used for future reference.

What Causes Microsoft Word The Name In The End Tag Of The Element Error?

Apparently, it’s equations! Specifically, it’s related to oMath tags when an equation is anchored to the same paragraph as a text box or graphical object.

After knowing the exact reason behind getting the error message “Microsoft word error the name in the end tag of the element“, now its time to proceed towards the solutions to solve this problem.

How to Troubleshoot End Tag Start Tag Mismatch Error When Opening DOCX Files Manually?

Method #1: Manually Edit XML

Well, if you need to do this manually then open your DOCX file & edit the XML. However, it’s not recommended to those whose steps are not firmly fixed on the ground of basics with respect to technical knowledge because it’s complicated and things could get messed up even more if you do not be careful. Method to adjust the actual Word document is mentioned below;

Basically, the whole Word file is actually a zipped archive of a bunch of XML files. The extension must be renamed from DOCX to ZIP in order to view this file.

In Windows 8, open Explorer and click on the View tab. On the right, you’ll see a checkbox called File name extensions.  Go ahead and check that. Now rename the DOCX file to ZIP and double-click on it to open it.

You will be seeing a couple of folders and an XML file. The main content of your Word document is inside the word folder. Open that and you’ll something as document.xml.

That is the main XML that contains the content of your actual Word document. Other ones are just settings, styles, fonts, etc. Now opening this in Notepad will look like a mess, so you want to do a search for oMath because that’s the tag that causes problems. Basically, it should look like this:

<m:oMath>
<mc:AlternateContent>
<mc:Choice Requires=”WPS”>

If the first line <m:oMath> is somehow below or after lines two or three, then you’ll be getting this error. Move it back immediately above those lines to be able to open the Word file.

Method #2: Save The Document In The RTF File Format

If the first workaround fails then, you can try the saving of documents in RTF file format.  This method may work consistently to work with the problem behavior but if you need to edit the file and cannot find any other way to correct your documents then for such a situation it can be a better option.

Step 1: After opening the document in Word you need to click the File option and then save and click on the Office Button you need to click on Save As button.

Save As

Step 2: In the Save As dialog box you need to click on the Save as type: dropdown and then select on Rich Text Format (*.rtf) and then save it:

Rich Text Format

  • You can also save it as binary (.doc) format but these shapes tend to get moved around and shifted so they don’t line up at right and if you want to use it you need use in .doc and .rtf format.
  • Both of them work’s the same but the .rtf can be more consistent and have the latest visual changes in the document.

Method #3: Fix By Grouping Objects

This step can be performed in MS Word because the Selection Panel was introduced in making it easier to see the objects on the page then it becomes a little bit difficult to select each individual object.

  • You firstly need to open the fixed document then you need to turn on the Selection pane. This can be found on the Home tab of the ribbon.

Selection pane

  • Then in the Editing group of the Home tab, you need to click upon the Select dropdown and then click on the Selection pane.
  • This will open the task pane on the right side of the document and will allow you to view the different objects on the active page.
  • Then you need to hold the CTRL button and then select the Text Box in the selection pane.

Text Box

  • Then you need to make the group objects together for this under the Drawing Tools on the Format tab in the Arrange group click on the Group.

Group shapes, pictures, or other objects in Word - Office Support

  • Once you get all the objects groups on each page you can save your document with a new name now.

If the above solutions unable to repair the name in the end tag of the element must match word 2010, then you can go with the next method.

How to Fix The Name In The End Tag Of The Element Word Automatically?

After trying the above three manual solutions, if you fail to resolve the above-mentioned error then, I would like to recommend the best way that is – MS Word File Repair ToolIt extracts the content from the file and rebuilds a new healthy word file that you can access easily.

It effectively recovers document texts along with its other important stuff like indentation, formatting, charts, hyperlinks, images, tables, etc. This powerful tool even repairs the severely damaged DOC files in seconds and saves you from a great disaster at work. It supports different versions of MS Word such as MS Word 2000, MS Word 2002, MS Word 2003, MS Word 2007, MS Word 2010, and MS Word 2013.

So just download DOC Repair Tool straight away and repair & restore your Word files in few seconds.


Steps To Repair The Name In The End Tag Of The Element Word

Step 1: User needs to just select a single file by clicking on a ‘Select File’ option or simply on a folder that contains all word files. They need to click on the ‘Select Folder’ or need to find the file clicking on the ‘Find File’ option.

User guide step 1

Step 2: As a list of the selected files is displayed, users need to thus make the selection of the Word file by using a checkbox that they want to repair. They need to select all files by marking the ‘Select All’ checkbox. After that, they need to click on the ‘Scan’ button.

user guide step 2

Step 3: He/she could easily saw the preview of the scanned file just by clicking on the file in both ‘Full document, and ‘Filtered text’ formats by clicking the tab given on the middle pane of the window.

Word file

Step 4: If the scanned word file sis a*.doc file, then there will an available preview in the “Raw text” format along with the ‘Filtered Text’ formats and ‘Full Document’ and ‘Filtered Text’ formats.

Word file

Step 5: For repairing, users need to simply click on the click on the ‘Start Repair’ option. Then they need to make a selection of the option for saving their file from the ‘Save Document’ dialog box and thus click the ‘Ok’ button.

Word file

Bottom Line

After going through the above information I have provided, you might know how to fix “the name in the end tag of the element must match Word 2013” error. No matter which Windows version you’re using, you can easily troubleshoot the name in the end tag of the element word error using MS Word File Repair Tool.

If you find this post helpful enough then please do share it with your friends and relatives who’re also getting this problem and want to fix this.

Thank you so much for reading my article.