Word on my Mac

Hi Steve Mason,

Could you please provide a bit more detail regarding your previous comment? This will help me better understand your situation and ensure that I’m guiding you appropriately.

In the meantime, kindly try the troubleshooting steps outlined in the answer and let me know the outcome. If the issue persists, please share any observations or error messages you encounter so I can assist you further.

Hi Steve Mason,

Based on your description, the behavior suggests that Microsoft Word itself is functioning correctly, since you are able to open documents from within the application (via Recent files or File > Open). This indicates that the files themselves are not corrupted.

The issue appears to be related to how macOS (Finder) is handling Word documents, rather than a problem with Word itself. In particular, this is commonly caused by a file association or system integration issue, where Finder is not properly linking Word documents (.docx) to the Microsoft Word application.

To resolve this, please try the following steps:

1. Move the Word cache folder and test
   • Close and quit Microsoft Word completely
   • In Finder, click Go > Go to Folder
   • Enter the following path:

          ~/Library/Containers/
     

   • Locate the folder Microsoft Word and move it to your Desktop
   • Reopen Word and test if the issue persists
2. Start your Mac in Safe Mode
   • Restart your Mac in Safe Mode to check whether the issue is caused by startup items or background processes
   • Once in Safe Mode, try opening the Word files again to see if the behavior changes
3. Reset the default application for Word files

• Right-click any Word document (.docx)
• Select Get Info
• Under Open with, choose Microsoft Word
• Click Change All… to apply this setting to all Word documents

For more information, please consult: Change permissions for files, folders, or disks on Mac - Apple Support

4. Restart Finder
   • Press Command + Option + Esc
   • Select Finder, then click Relaunch

Please rest assured that your documents are safe and accessible, as confirmed by the ability to open them directly within Word. In the meantime, you can use the workaround proposed in the previous post to open your file from Recent tab in Microsoft Word.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation. Please feel free to reach out if you need any further assistance.

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