Error: 'Word cannot open the document: user does not have access privileges' on Mac OS Sierra with Office 2016

Question

When I click on a link to open / edit a Word-document from an online filesharing source (e.g. a Kentico or eXo Platform intranet), Word for Mac is started correctly, but then the message ‘‘Word cannot open the document: user does not have access privileges’ pops up and the document cannot be opened:

The peculiar thing is that opening / editing Excel or Powerpoint files from the same online sources goes without problems. The same applies to opening these Word documents from a browser on a Windows PC. Besides, when I download the Word documents to my MacBook and open them from my local drive, there are no problems at all. Also, when I open the same files via OneDrive in my browser and click on ‘Edit in Word’, this goes without problems.

Does anybody have a clue what might cause this? I have tried all potential fixes that I could find in the Microsoft Forums and elsewhere to resolve this issue:

1. Tested with different machines (MacBook Pro, MacBook and iMac)
2. Tested with different browsers on my Mac
3. Tested with different online filesharing platforms that have Office integration
4. Checked permissions on the files
5. Repaired disk permissions on my Mac
6. Reset home folder permissions on my Mac
7. Tested with a new user profile
8. Logged out of Word 2016
9. Removed remnants of Office 2011
10. Removed Office plist files
11. Removed containers for Office apps
12. Removed old font files stored by Office 2011
13. Removed font collections
14. Deleted all fonts
15. Cleaned font cache with FontNuke
16. Removed normal.dot and backup
17. Removed all Microsoft entries in keychain
18. Booted in safe mode

etc.

Nothing helped.

For more details, see this document: https://1drv.ms/w/s!An9V\_kOPpd0Mhqp60gP9r5C0CgZeBQ

Answer 1

Hi René,

As the issue occurs when you open Word files from specific sources (e.g. Kentico or eXo Platform intranet) in a browser and you can open the same Word file in OneDrive, I suggest you seek dedicated help in Kentico Technical Support and eXo Platform intranet forum.

In addition, you may refer to these 2 userful links Configuring WebDAV and Open in Office configuration.

Your understanding is highly appreciated.

Tina

Answer 2

Hi Tina,

One of our developers has already been looking into it and he will definitely ask Kentico for help if necessary. But I suspect it has something to do with webdav / Office (the more so because this problem also occurs on eXoPlatform when I tested it there). I was hoping that someone from Microsoft or a forum member would recognise my problem and could perhaps provide a solution.

Anyway, thank you for your suggestions!

René

Answer 3

Our developer has eventually found the cause of the problem. It appears to be an authentication bug in Microsoft Office for Mac, that has been reported as early as December 2013:

"This issue is caused by MS Office for Mac incorrectly process OPTIONS request. MS Office for Mac requires OPTIONS request to be authenticated. According to RFC 2616 it should be processed without authentication. This is a MS Office for Mac bug." Source: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/20805058/options-request-authentication

He was eventually able to find a way to resolve it, but for an ordinary user, it would really be impossible to resolve. So let's hope and pray Microsoft will fix this in a future version of Office for Mac.

Answer 4

Please click the smiley face Icon on far right side of Word and report and click what can be done better and Give this information.  Also got to 

Your best bet is to save this correspondence and submit it to

Microsoft Suggestion Box Websites:

• **Word Suggestion Box**
• **Excel Suggestion Box**
• **PowerPoint Suggestion Box**
• **OneNote SuggestionBox**
• **Outlook Suggestion Box**

Directions:

• Click on the Link above that matches the application you want to report.
• Sign in using the same password and Username/email address used to sign into the Community Forums.
• Next, locate the link for your particular version.

(example: Word 2016 Mac).

• Now, look for your Bug Report/Complaint/Suggestion, to see if already reported.If so, vote for it, and add a comment detailing your issues. If you do not see any, create a Bug Report/Complaint/Suggestion.

_________

Disclaimer:

The questions, discussions, opinions, replies & answers I create, are solely mine and mine alone and do not reflect upon my position as a Community Moderator.

Answer 5

Thanks for providing this information Rene.  I will mention it to the Office Support Tier 2 call that I am expecting this morning.  Reason is, I too am having this same issue.  My client has authorized me as a contributor ("can edit") on their Sharepoint drive.  When I click on a file that I uploaded to their directory, I can view it in the browser and even edit in Word Online.

However, when I click "Edit in Word", Word 2016 opens, asks me to sign into my Microsoft account, and then reports that it cannot, for the same error that you posted.

I opened a ticket yesterday with Microsoft and the agent escalated to Tier 2.  Here is why....

I can download the file from my client's SharePoint directory and open the file locally, no problem.  I then made a small change (renamed the file), and uploaded that back to the SP directory.  Still cannot Edit in Word.

So, in a bizarre test, I deleted my Word 2016 and reactivated my older Word 2011.  The Edit in Word from the SharePoint directory worked perfectly.

Like you, everything in my own OneDrive directory works fine with Word 2016.  It seems that there is a break in authentication with Word 2016 when it asks to login to someone else's SharePoint directory.

I cannot really pin point this to a specific moment, but I can say that I upgraded my Mac to High Sierra.  This prompted me to use Word 2016, because I read that Office 2011 support stopped in High Sierra.  Guess not.

Stay tuned.....