If you have used Word previously on this computer, you can try to remove any preferences that you have set. If this is the case, try to use a different browser to access your email, and then download the files again. If the problem file is downloaded from a website, the web browser may add a symbol to the file name. You can try to resolve this issue by renaming the file without symbols. If the document name contains symbols, such as the percent character, the file does not open when you double-click the name. To download the latest update, see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:ģ23601How to obtain Office for Mac software updates To view the version of your Word installation, start Word, and then click About Word on the Help menu. Step 2: Download and install the latest updateĭownload and install the latest Word update, depending on your version of the program. If the issue continues to occur, go to the next step. You can copy or move these files to the desktop. Note You do not have to delete files in this folder. Additionally, you may have to use the Force Quit command to exit the program. If anyone has any thoughts, I'd be glad to hear them.When you try to open a Microsoft Word for Mac document, Word for Mac stops responding. Here is a partial ls -l of my Documents folder Last login: Mon Nov 25 16:02:27 on ~ % cd Documents % ls -l This let me access my files for the remainder of the day, but today - no access.

So I deleted my existing user, created a brand new one, and copied the files from the clone to the new user account. I tested the files stored on a clone of my HD and found they were able to be opened. So I Reset Permissions again, and the same result happened, access for one day, and the following, no access. The following day the issue reappeared and I could no longer access the files. That actually gave me access to my files for exactly one day. I followed the steps outlined above including the steps in the 'Reset permissions' section on this page: Resolve issues caused by changing the permissions of items in your home folder. I did not notice for a couple of days until I tried to access an older. The files were originally transferred using Migration Assistant. It started when I migrated to a new iMac running 10.15.1. I have this problem with every file type in my Documents folder.

Cannot open word document in mac