A family of Microsoft word processing software products for creating web, email, and print documents.
Hi WILLIAMS, Ashley (awill486)
Based on the error message, Word is running in view-only mode because the Office apps cannot verify a license that includes desktop editing rights for Mac. This is typically related to licensing or activation rather than the document itself.
If you're using a school account, it may be worth checking which Microsoft 365 Education license is assigned to you. You can sign in to the Microsoft 365 portal and review the Subscriptions section: My account
For example, Microsoft 365 A1 provide access only to the web versions of Office and may cause the desktop apps to open in view-only mode, while Microsoft 365 A3 and A5 include desktop Office applications such as Word for Mac. If you're unsure which license is assigned, your school's IT administrator can verify this for you.
If the issue started suddenly and Word was previously allowing editing, it may indicate that the license assignment, activation status, or school policy changed. In that case, the school's IT administrator will need to review the license assigned to your account and confirm whether desktop editing on Mac is permitted.
As a temporary workaround, you can continue editing documents using Word for the web through your browser while the licensing issue is being investigated.
I hope this information helps and if you still have any concern, please feel free to let me know!
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