Unable to delete Word file in an Android Device

Question

I am trying to delete a file but Word (android GalaxyNote5) is saying I do not have permission to delete 

**The post was moved to the appropriate forum category by the moderator.**

***Subject edited for clarity by the moderator.***

Answer 1

I had this very same issue. Files I opened from emails were saved in data/user/0 which is a directory you cannot edit. The thing that fixed it was to copy the files I needed to other locations and then reset the app. After that the files were gone.

How do I locate data/user/0?  What app are you saying to reset?  Sorry, I just don't know how to do that, but yours has been the first possible solution that seems to make sense.  Your help would be appreciated.   Thank you.

 This applies to files that were opened in Word.  You cannot see data/user/0, this is a hidden file that you can only see if you have rooted your phone; some of the files in your "recents" list are placed in there by the app.  I do not know why they did this; it makes little sense that you would be unable to delete files that you only needed one time.  After doing this I freed up several gigs of storage on my phone.

If you go into settings in the Android app there is a button  marked "Reset Office" .  This will delete all the files, so make sure you have saved the ones you need in another directory. When you go back into Word the files will be gone.  Attached is an image of the settings which shows the reset button

Thank you.  I will try to follow your instructions.

Answer 2

Still no solution?

Do I have to reset the app every time I open a file received by e-mail?

Answer 3

This issue with the Microsoft word in Excel apps on Android devices has been going on for well over 2 years.

I brought it up to Google tech support and they spent two hours trying to fix it on my pixel phone.   Google tech support when so far is to send me a new phone but the problem still persist.  Google came to the conclusion that it's a Microsoft App issue not a Google issue.

Haven't seen the Microsoft admins on this forum comment yet, they have no fix at this point other than wiping the app clean and starting over.

Answer 4

This seems to be a serious issue.

Answer 5

Thank you.  I have been trying to get it fixed for months.  I hate to have so many documents that are no longer needed just taking up space. I appreciate your reply.