Why Is Microsoft Word Not Opening On My Mac
- Why Is Microsoft Word Not Opening On My Mac Account
- Why Is Microsoft Word Not Opening On My Mac Computer
- Microsoft Word Will Not Open Documents
One of the most depressing moment is when you click on the Save button to save a Word document you are working on, an error pops up and says: Microsoft Word is not responding. The error also happens when you try to open a Word document.
Mar 17, 2020 Using the Microsoft utility to rebuild a corrupted database might solve the problem of Outlook not opening on your Mac Please note if you have a Microsoft Exchange account, rebuilding the database will delete any information not synced with the server. Question: Q: why isn't microsoft word not opening anymore a couple weeks ago i reset my entire mac because i inherited it from my father, and i wanted just my things on it, but i noticed that it didn't have any of the Microsoft applications like word or powerpoint which i use on a daily basis. Besides the above methods fail, you can also run the Disk Utility to repair the Word file if the Microsoft Word is not opening on your Mac computer. Inside the Go menu, choose the Utilities option and start the Disk Utility program. Make sure that you choose the Primary hard disk of your Mac and then click on the “First Aid” tab. Apr 16, 2018 Word for Mac document stops responding when you try to open a document. Is named com.microsoft.word.prefs. Font does not appear in the font list in Word for Mac. Jul 14, 2014 Question: Q: my microsoft word won't open anymore in macbook pro with latest OSX I had installed OSX latest version some months ago and there was no problem with opening all documents in words. Just today I can open the word document but stalled and could not edit as there is a rolling icon (processing) appeared.
If you can't save or open a Word file because Microsoft Word is not responding on Windows or Mac, here are how to fix it and save the document.
Microsoft Word Not Responding When Opening or Saving a Document(Windows)
1. Repair Microsoft Word
If MS Word is not responding on your Windows 10/8/7 PC when you try to save or open a document, you can start to fix the problem by repairing the Microsoft Word application.
Access the Repair Tool
On Windows 10, right-click the Start button and click Apps and Features. Select Microsoft Word from the Apps list and select Modify.
2019-9-30 Due to the protection of Gmail account privacy, you cannot update the password in Outlook for Mac via Tools Accounts. In this scenario, you can try to re-add your Gmail account in Outlook for Mac. Besides, I suggest you create an App Password in Gmail side so that you can always use the App Password to sign in Outlook for Mac. Microsoft Support. Update your password in Outlook for Mac. Outlook for Office 365 for Mac Outlook 2016 for Mac Outlook 2019 for Mac More. On the Tools tab, click Accounts. In the left pane, click the account in which you want to change the password. If your user password was reset because you forgot your password, and you can’t provide the old password for the keychain, you won’t be able to access the information in the old keychain, and a new blank keychain is created. Microsoft mac update password. Update Office from the Mac App Store. If you downloaded Office from the Mac App Store, and have automatic updates turned on, your apps will update automatically. But you can also manually download the updates: Open the Mac App Store from your Dock or Finder. 2017-3-14 When the value is blank or set to Not configured, Intune doesn't change or update this setting. Password expiration (days): Enter the number of days until the device password must be changed, from 1-65535. For example, enter 90 to expire the password after 90 days. When the password expires, users are prompted to create a new password.
On Windows 8, 7, click the Start button and select Control Panel. Open Programs > Uninstall a program. Right-click on Microsoft Word and select Change.
Run the Repair Tool for Microsoft Word
If your Microsoft Office is installed by click-to-run, you will see the window 'How would you like to repair your Office Programs'. click Online Repair > Repair.
If your Microsoft Office is MSI-based installed, you'll see the 'Change your installation' window, click Repair > Continue.
Follow the on-screen instructions to finish the repair. Then try to open or save the Word document and see if Word is responding now.
2. Disconnect Network Drive
If you are using a network drive to save the Word files, Microsoft Word doesn't respond if the network drive is not existing or offline. You may disconnect the network drive from your computer to fix the unresponsive Microsoft Word.
Step 1 Go to My Computer.
Step 2 Right-click on it and select Disconnect Network Drive.
Step 3 Click the letter of the drive that the Word files are saved to and click OK to disconnect the drive.
Now all contents on the network drive can be accessed via Windows Explorer.
3. Disable Add-ins in Microsoft Word
When your Microsoft Word is not responding, Add-ins for Word may be the culprit. Disable all the add-ins for Word.
Step 1 In Microsoft Word, click File > Word Options > Add-ins.
Step 2 Under Manage: Com-in Add, click Go to open all add-ins.
Step 3 Disable all add-ins and click OK.
4. Save Document When Microsoft Word Not Responding
If Microsoft Word is not responding and you have to close Microsoft Word without saving the Word document, you can try to recover the unsaved Word document in the following 2 ways.
Search for Word Backup Files
By default, Microsoft Word turns on 'Always create backup copy' option so that it will create a backup copy of the working Word file automatically. Here is how to access the backup copy in different versions of Word.
For Word 2016: Click 'File > Open > Browse'.
For Word 2013: 'File > Open > Computer > Browse'
For Word 2010: Click 'File > Open'.
For Word 2007: Click 'Microsoft Office Button > Open'.
Then navigate to the folder where you last saved the Word file.
In the Files of type list (All Word documents), click 'All Files'. Find and click the backup file and then open it.
If you couldn't find a backup of the unsaved Word file, use a Data Recovery to get it back.
Use FonePaw Data Recovery to Restore Lost Files
FonePaw Data Recovery can quickly and deeply scan your computer to retrieve deleted Word documents as well as images, videos, audios, and more from hard drives (including Recycle Bin) on Windows 10/8/7/XP. See how easy it is to find back lost documents:
Step 1 Launch FonePaw Data Recovery.
Step 2 Select the Document file type and hard disk drive to go into the scanning process. It will be better if you remember which drive the Word documents are saved to. If not, choose all hard disk drives.
Step 3Click Scan. Quick Scan will be carried out automatically.
Step 4 Check the scanned results by Type List and Path List. Just check all the Word document file found. You are always allowed to preview the files.
If you find the result unsatisfying, try Deep Scan which may take some time.
Fix Microsoft Word Not Responding on Mac
If Microsoft Word doesn't respond on Mac, you may force quit the application and fix the problem with the following methods.
1. Clear the Auto Recovery folder
Step 1 Open the Go menu and click Home.
Step 2 Go to Documents > Microsoft User Data then you will find the Office Autorecovery folder.
Step 3 Open the folder, there are the autorecovery files of Microsoft application. You can copy or move the files to somewhere else to save them. Then delete all the files in the folder.
Now launch Microsoft Word and see if it is responding now.
2. Remove Word Preferences Files
Step 1 Click Go > Go to the folder, then type ~/Library to open the Library folder.
Step 2 Open the Preferences folder and select the Word preference file, which is named as com.microsoft.Word.plist. Move the file to somewhere else like the desktop.
Now launch Microsoft Word and see if it is responding.
If the problem still exists, do the follows:
Restore the file named com.microsoft.Word.plist to the original folder, then exit all Microsoft Office programs.
Then, Click the Word icon > Preferences > Personal Settings > File Locations > User templates.
You will find a file named Normal. Move it to the desktop.
Now launch Microsoft Word and test the program.
3. Save Word Document on Mac
The worst case is that Word is not responding so that the document can't be saved, you can try to retrieve unsaved Word document with FonePaw Data Recovery for Mac.
FonePaw Data Recovery for Mac can scan out all the existing and deleted Word document on your Mac and save Word documents as soon as possible. Read How to Recover Unsaved Word Documents on Mac.
All the above are the ways to fix and save document files when Microsoft Word is not responding on Mac or Windows.
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Mar 31,2020 • Filed to: Mac Recovery • Proven solutions

“How to open Word on Mac? I have some important Word documents saved on my Mac, but every time I try to open them, the application crashes!”
This is a recent query posted on a forum by a concerned user about MS Word on Mac. Since MS Office is a third-party application on Mac, a lot of users struggle with it. For instance, some people say that Microsoft Word won’t open on Mac, even after numerous efforts. Chances are that there could be a problem with the software itself or your Mac as well. The good news is that you can learn how to open Word on Mac and fix this issue by following some simple steps. In this guide, we will help you resolve the Word won’t open on Mac query like a pro.
Part 1: How to Open Microsoft Word on Mac?
There are times when users are not able to understand how to open Microsoft Word on Mac. Needless to say, before you proceed, make sure that MS Word is already installed on your Mac and is running smoothly. You can just look for the Word application on your Mac and launch it without any trouble. Here’s how to open Word on Mac seamlessly.
Step 1 The easiest way to open Word on Mac is by using the Spotlight search. Simply click on the search icon on the top-right corner of the screen.
Step 2 You can either look for the MS Word application or type the name of the document that you wish to open. Click on the searched results to launch it.
Step 3 Subsequently, you can also view the installed Applications by visiting Mac’s System Preferences. Also, you can just press Command + Shift + A to open the Applications tab.
Step 4 Scroll down to view all the MS Office applications installed on your Mac. Look for MS Word and double-click it to launch the application.
Part 2: Why Microsoft Word Won't Open on Mac?
Before we learn ways to fix Word won’t open on Mac, it is important to know what could have caused the issue in the first place. Here are some of the common reasons why Word won’t open on Mac:
- There might be some issue with MS Word or the Office application.
- The installer could have been corrupt, leading to a malfunction application installation.
- If you are running an outdated version of MS Word on a new macOS, then you can encounter this issue.
- The storage unit where MS Word was installed could have been corrupt as well.
- A system setting could be blocking the Word application in the background.
- The MS Word document that you are trying to open could have been corrupt.
- A change in Word Preferences or app settings can also lead to the malfunction of the utility tool.
Part 3: What to Do When Word Files Won't Open on Mac?
As you can see, there could be different reasons for Word files not opening on Mac. Thankfully, you can easily fix this issue by following some thoughtful troubleshooting tips. Here’s how you can also resolve the Microsoft Word not opening on Mac problem.
Solution 1: Run 'Disk Utility' to Repair
Disk Utility is the native feature of macOS that can help us repair a disk (system storage or external devices). You can access it via Mac’s Applications or by booting your system in the recovery mode. Therefore, if your Mac is functioning seamlessly, then you can take the assistance of Disk Utility in no time. This will scan your Mac’s storage and make sure that it won’t lead to any MS Word issue.
Why Is Microsoft Word Not Opening On My Mac Account
Step 1 Firstly, go to your Mac’s Finder and visit Applications > Utilities. From the list of the available Utility tools, select “Disk Utility” and open it.
Step 2 This will launch the Disk Utility application on Mac. On the left panel, you can see the available drives and partitions. Simply select the drive where MS Word is installed.
Step 3 You will get its details on the right and numerous other options. From its toolbar, click on the “First Aid” button.
Step 4 A pop-up window will ask you to confirm your choice. Click on the “Run” button and wait for a while as Mac would repair its storage.
Solution 2: Remove Word Preferences
Chances are that there could be a problem with the MS Word application installed on your Mac as well. For instance, the default template or Word preferences could clash with its functioning. In this case, you can just remove the Word Preferences and try to fix the Word won’t open on Mac issue instantly.
Step 1 To start with, select the Word icon on the desktop or open the application. Go to the Finder menu and click on Word > Preferences.
Step 2 This will launch the Word Preferences window on the screen. Click on the “File Locations” option to continue.
Step 3 Now, you can see different file types with their location. Click on the “User Templates” option and choose to reset it.
Step 4 If you want to delete it entirely, then click on the “Modify” button instead. Look for the “Normal” file, cut it, and paste it somewhere else (or just delete it from the location).
Solution 3: Try 'Open and Repair'
The above-listed solutions would work if there is an issue with Mac’s storage or the Word application itself. Though, the reason why won’t Word open on Mac could be something else as well. For instance, the Word document that you are trying to open could have been corrupt. To repair a corrupted Word document, you can take the assistance of the application’s native feature. Here’s how to open Word on Mac and repair a faulty document.
Step 1 If the MS Word application is already not opened, then do the same by clicking on its icon.
Step 2 After the application is launched, go to its main menu and click on File > Open to proceed.
Step 3 As a browser window will launch, simply go to the location where the faulty Word document is stored and select it.
Step 4 Instead of clicking on the “Open” button, click on the dropdown icon and choose to “Open and Repair” the file.
Wait for a while as Word will try to automatically repair the document and would extract its saved content.
Part 4: How to Recover Lost Word Documents on Mac?
By following the discussed solutions, you would be able to fix issues like Word won’t open on Mac. Though, if you have lost some of your documents or have deleted them accidentally, then consider using Recoverit (IS) for Mac. It is a dedicated data recovery tool that can get back all kinds of lost or deleted documents on your Mac. This includes all sorts of Word, Excel, PDF, PowerPoint, and numerous other file types.
Recoverit (IS) for Mac
A Life Saver to Solve Your Data Loss Problems!
- The tool is extremely easy to use and features one of the highest data recovery rates in the market.
- It can recover data lost under different scenarios like accidentally deleted documents, corrupt Word files, lost partition, corrupt storage, etc.
- You can also recover data from an external source like SD card, USB drive, hard drive, and so on.
- The application can perform different kinds of scans on any source – quick or deep. You can perform the needed scan as per your requirements.
- Apart from Word documents, it can also recover your photos, videos, audios, compressed files, and all kinds of data.
Even with no prior technical knowledge, you can take the assistance of Recoverit (IS) and get back your lost files on your Mac. To do it, follow these basic steps:
Step 1 Download and install
Download and install the Recoverit (IS) program on your Mac computer.
Step 2 Pick a location to scan
In order to proceed, you can just choose a location to scan for lost Word documents. It can be the internal Mac storage or any other external device.
Step 3 Restore your data
This will make the application look for any lost or deleted Word file on the selected location. You can just wait for a while for the process to be completed.
In the end, users can just preview the recovered data on the application and select the Word documents to save. Click on the “Recover” button and save them to any location of your choice.
Bonus Tips: How to Avoid Word File Corruption on Mac
Why Is Microsoft Word Not Opening On My Mac Computer
A lot of times, a Word file becomes inaccessible or corrupt on Mac as well. If you don’t want to go through unwanted issues like Word won’t open on Mac, then consider following these preventive measures:
- Always keep a backup of your important Word files so that you won’t lose them unexpectedly.
- Keep the Word application updated to make sure it won’t suffer from any compatibility issue.
- Avoid changing the extension of the documents forcefully.
- Don’t open Word documents with other third-party tools that can corrupt them.
- Keep the Mac storage clean and not cluttered to ensure its safety.
- Only use an authentic copy of MS Word from its official website. If you are using a pirated version, then it might corrupt your documents.
- Don’t close your Mac unexpectedly when the Word document is still being processed in the background.
Microsoft Word Will Not Open Documents
There you go! After reading this guide, you would be able to fix issues like Microsoft Word won’t open on Mac for sure. We have come up with three working solutions on Word won’t open on Mac problems and have provided a stepwise solution on how to open Word on Mac. Apart from that, you can take the assistance of Recoverit (IS) to get back lost Word documents in no time. It is a highly secure and reliable application that can help you in more ways than you can imagine. Give it a try and never lose your important Word documents on Mac again.