Reader Mary wrote in with this vexing Word 2007 problem:

"When only one document is opened, saved, and then closed in Word, the entire program closes. To keep the program open after closing a document, a second document must be open. Word is missing the second closing 'X' in the upper right corner."

I've noticed this myself. In previous versions of Word, you could close the current document by clicking its "X," but in Word 2007, that same action closes the program itself. How can you close the current document without closing Word?

There are two options. First, you can give each document its own "little X," just like in Word 2003. Here's how:

1. With at least one document open, click the Office Button, then Advanced Options.

2. Click Advanced, then scroll down to the Display section.

3. Clear the checkbox next to Show all windows in the Taskbar.

4. Click OK to finish and exit.

Now check the upper right corner and you'll see that the current document has its own "X." Click it to close the document while leaving Word open.

The problem with this is that there's no longer an easy way to switch between multiple open documents! You have to click the View tab, then Switch Windows, and then click the document you want to bring to the forefront. That's not my idea of a time-saver.

Instead of all this, just memorize a keyboard shortcut. Both Ctrl-W and Ctrl-F4 will close the current document without closing Word itself. No fuss, no muss.