What To Do When Microsoft Word Crashes On A Mac

What To Do When Microsoft Word Crashes On A Mac 8,8/10 9567 votes

Experiencing a Word freeze-up in the middle of working on something important is very stressful. Let’s say, you are writing your term paper seeking an answer to the question that would make the life of millions of people around the entire globe much easier and more comfortable (for example, Do Woodpeckers Get Headaches?). And in the middle of the process, when your thoughts smoothly flow from your head into the text editor; when no slightest paper help is needed from anybody; when the inspiration is overflowing; when you feel on the verge of the greatest finding in the history of humanity – dear Lord! Word just crashes or freezes. If you’ve never suffered such a tragedy, you must be the luckiest person on Earth and should definitely play lottery right about now. Otherwise, scan the text below to find out how to straighten things out and minimize the damage from such a misfortune.

Jan 16, 2017  I have Word 2016 on my Mac and adding/updating references is practically instant. It does crash every now and then when I try to do complex operations such as copying advanced footer fields into the header or running macros. This was an issue even before using Zotero, though. Maybe you should try uninstalling the MS Word plugin and reinstalling it. In case Word processor fails to open the task pane, then search for ASD file in Microsoft Word or in Mac finder. ASD files are nothing but backup of Word documents that are automatically saved in Word application when it crashes all of a sudden without any notification.

To partly recover the document you have been working on, try printing out the screen. After that, try force-quitting the application by using the Command-Option-Esc shortcut. When the Force Quit window appears, select the app you want to abort and press Force Quit.

-->

Note

Office 365 ProPlus is being renamed to Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. For more information about this change, read this blog post.

Symptoms

When you start Microsoft Word for Mac, or when you try to open a new document, you experience one of the following conditions:

  • The program closes unexpectedly.

  • Error message:

Note

This error message may also occur during usage of application such as saving a document.

Resolution

To resolve this problem, follow steps below.

Microsoft Word for Mac 2008 or Later

Step 1: Quit all applications

  1. On the Apple menu, click Force Quit.

  2. Select an application in the 'Force Quit Applications' window.

  3. Click Force Quit.

  4. Repeat the previous steps until all active applications.

What To Do When Microsoft Word Crashes On A Mac Drive

What To Do When Microsoft Word Crashes On A Mac

Warning

When an application is force quit, any unsaved changes to open documents are not saved.

Step 2: Remove Preferences

  1. Quit all Microsoft Office for Mac programs.

  2. On the Go menu, click Home.

  3. Open Library.

    Note

    The Library folder is hidden in MAC OS X Lion. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.

  4. Open the Preferences folder.

  5. Look for a file that is named com.microsoft.Word.plist.

  6. If you locate the file, move it to the desktop. If you do not locate the file, the program is using the default preferences.

  7. If you locate the file and move it to the desktop, start Word, and check whether the problem still occurs. If the problem still occurs, quit Microsoft Word, and restore the file to its original location. Then, go to the next step. If the problem seems to be resolved, you can move the com.microsoft.Word.plist file to the trash.

  8. Quit all Microsoft Office for Mac programs.

  9. On the Go menu, click Home.

  10. Open Library.

    Note

    The Library folder is hidden in MAC OS X Lion. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.

  11. Open the Preferences folder.

    Academic microsoft office mac 2016 The license is good for as long as you continue to use the product.As I understand it, though, some schools offer the software to their students under a volume license.

  12. Open the Microsoft folder.

  13. Locate the file that is named com.microsoft.Word.prefs.plist.

  14. Move the file to the desktop.

  15. Start Word, and check whether the problem still occurs. If the problem still occurs, quit Word, and restore the file to its original location. Then, go to the next step. If the problem seems to be resolved, you can move the com.microsoft.Word.prefs.plist file to the trash.

  16. On the Go menu, click Home.

  17. Open Library.

    Note

    The Library folder is hidden in MAC OS X Lion. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.

  18. Open the Application Support folder.

  19. Open the Microsoft folder.

  20. Open the Office folder.

  21. Open the User Templates folder.

  22. Locate the file that is named Normal, and move the file to the desktop.

  23. Start Word and check whether the problem still occurs. If the problem seems to be resolved, you can move the Normal file to the Trash. If the issue continues to occur, proceed to the next step.

If the issue continues to occur, go to the next step.

Step 3: Peform clean boot

For information how to clean start your Operating system (OS), see Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

What To Do When Microsoft Word Crashes On A Mac

2398596 How to use a 'clean startup' to determine whether background programs are interfering with Office for Mac

Word Crashes When Saving

If the issue continues to occur in Safe mode, go to the next step.

Free Word For Mac Computers

Step 4: Remove and then reinstall Office

For information how to remove and then reinstall Office, see the following article:

If after removing and then reinstalling Office, the problem continues to occur, go to the next step.

Step 5: Use the 'Repair Disk Permissions' option

You can use the Repair Disk Permissions option to troubleshoot permissions problems in Mac OS X 10.2 or later versions. To use the Repair Disk Permissions option, follow these steps:

Microsoft Word Crashes On Startup

  1. On the Go menu, click Utilities.
  2. Start the Disk Utility program.
  3. Click the primary hard disk drive for your computer.
  4. Click the First Aid tab.
  5. Click Repair Disk Permissions.

What To Do When Microsoft Word Crashes On A Mac Computer

Note

The Disk Utility program only repairs software that is installed by Apple. This utility also repairs folders, such as the Applications folder. However, this utility does not repair software that is in your home folder.

Microsoft Word 2004 for Mac

  1. Quit all Microsoft Office for Mac programs.

  2. On the Go menu, click Home.

  3. Open Library.

    Note

    The Library folder is hidden in MAC OS X Lion. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.

  4. Open the Preferences folder.

  5. Look for a file that is named com.microsoft.Word.plist.

  6. If you locate the file, move it to the desktop. If you do not locate the file, the program is using the default preferences.

  7. If you locate the file and move it to the desktop, start Word, and check whether the problem still occurs. If the problem still occurs, quit Word, and restore the file to its original location. Then, go to the next step. If the problem seems to be resolved, you can move the com.microsoft.Word.plist file to the trash.

  8. Qit all Microsoft Office for Mac programs.

  9. On the Go menu, click Home.

  10. Open Library.

    Note

    The Library folder is hidden in MAC OS X Lion. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.

  11. Open the Preferences folder.

  12. Open the Microsoft folder.

  13. Look for a file that is named com.microsoft.Word.prefs.plist.

  14. Move the file to the desktop.

  15. Start Word, and check whether the problem still occurs. If the problem still occurs, quit Word, and restore the file to its original location. Then, go to the next step. If the problem seems to be resolved, you can move the com.microsoft.Word.prefs.plist file to the trash.

  16. On the Go menu, click Home.

  17. Open the Documents folder.

  18. Open the Microsoft User Data folder.

  19. Locate the file that is named Normal, and move the file to the desktop.

  20. Start Word, and check whether the problem still occurs. If the problem seems to be resolved, you can move the Normal file to the trash.

Third-party disclaimer information

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, about the performance or reliability of these products.

What To Do When Microsoft Word Crashes On A Mac Download

The information and the solution in this document represent the current view of Microsoft Corporation on these issues as of the date of publication. This solution is available through Microsoft or through a third-party provider. Microsoft does not specifically recommend any third-party provider or third-party solution that this article might describe. There might also be other third-party providers or third-party solutions that this article does not describe. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, this information should not be interpreted to be a commitment by Microsoft. Microsoft cannot guarantee or endorse the accuracy of any information or of any solution that is presented by Microsoft or by any mentioned third-party provider.