My microsoft word is not responding but I have unsaved important documents. How can I fix this? Word for the Mac

Hi Elizabeth,

You can try using the AutoRecover feature if the files were ever saved.

Press Command+Option+Escape to display the Force Quit dialog. Select Microsoft Word not responding and then Force Quit.

Restart your Mac

When you open Microsoft Word it will attempt to recover the documents that were open when you Force Quit Microsoft Word. Use File > Save As and then save those files with new names.

You will lose all unsaved changes doing this, but I don't see any other way to possibly recover what was open when Word froze.

Dear Elizabeth Stanley,

Good day! Thank you for posting to Microsoft Community. We are happy to help you.

As per your description, it seems that you are having issue with Word for Mac, not responding and have unsaved important documents.

If the understanding above is right, please navigate to AutoRecovery folder to check if there's any file listed there for recovery.

For your reference: Recover files in Office for Mac - Microsoft Support

Meanwhile, please check if the suggestions shared in below official article can help.

For your reference: Word for Mac document stops responding when you try to open a document - Microsoft Support

If the issue still persists, to help you better, we would like to collect more detailed information you're experiencing so that we can have a further investigation:

1. Does this happen to all files or the specific file? Will the same issue occur if you try to create a new file?
2. If the unsaved file is located in local disk or in cloud such as OneDrive/SharePoint?
3. If other Office applications have the same behavior, like Excel/PowerPoint?
4. Please navigate to Word > Word for Mac and take a screenshot as shown below:

Appreciate your understanding that sometimes the initial reply may not resolve the situation very soon. However, we can work together to narrow down and resolve the situation. Please kindly post back and provide the more information, then we can focus on your specific scenario and provide specific suggestions.

If the understanding above is not consistent with yours, please feel free to post back and point that.

Your understanding and patience will be highly appreciated. We hope that you are keeping safe and well!

Thanks for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Rhoda | Microsoft Community Moderator

Dear Elizabeth Stanley,

Good day!

Thank you for posting to Microsoft Community. We are glad to assist. We are looking into your situation and we will update the thread shortly.

Appreciate your patience and understanding and thank for your time and cooperation.

Sincerely,

Rhoda