Is this a known issue: "Microsoft Word: Word has encountered a problem. You will not be able to undo this action once it is completed. Do you want to continue?"

Question

I use Microsoft Word on macOS Tahoe version 26.3.1 (a) and until a few weeks ago Word worked just fine and has been for many years on macOS.

Then I started getting the message: "Microsoft Word: Word has encountered a problem. You will not be able to undo this action once it is completed. Do you want to continue?" anytime and everytime I make a change - anything from simply changing a font style or paragraph settings to inserting a Table of Content, or starting a new document and pasting content into the doc or by starting to type content.

So far I have NOT seen any loss of content but it is extremely irritating.Office updates are currently automatic so not sure whether an update was applied and caused the issue however I see from other threads that people have been experiencing this for many, many years.

What to do to fix this??

Answer 1

As suggested by the AI response, try creating a new user on your Mac. If there are no crashes for the new user account, the issue is with the settings files.

   

P.S. Rather than trying to delete the settings files for your original account, it is usually recommended that you copy over data files to the new account. There may be advantages and disadvantages with that approach. Experienced Mac users such as John Korchok and Bob Jones AKA CyberTaz MVP will know more.

Answer 2

This behavior is not listed in the provided documentation as a known Word for Mac issue, so there is no specific hotfix or status article for it in the context.

Based on the available guidance for similar Word-for-Mac error conditions, the recommended remediation is to treat it as a corruption or environment issue and work through these steps:

1. Test with a new macOS user account
   • A corrupted user profile can cause persistent Word errors.
   • Create a new macOS user account and sign in to that account.
   • Start Word there and perform the same actions (formatting, inserting TOC, pasting content).
   • If the problem does not occur in the new account, the original macOS profile is likely corrupted and should be repaired or migrated.
2. Perform a clean startup of macOS
   • Background processes or third‑party add‑ins can interfere with Word.
   • Perform a clean startup of macOS as described in the referenced article to temporarily disable non‑essential background software.
   • Launch Word and test again. If the message disappears, re‑enable background items gradually to identify the conflicting software (for example, PDF or other Office‑integrated tools).
3. Repair disk permissions
   • Use Disk Utility to repair permissions on the primary disk:
     1. Open Go → Utilities.
     2. Start Disk Utility.
     3. Select the primary hard disk.
     4. Go to the First Aid tab.
     5. Run Repair Disk Permissions.
   • Then restart macOS and test Word again.
4. Remove and reinstall Office for Mac
   • If the issue persists, treat it as application‑file corruption and reinstall Office:
     • Fully remove Office for Mac using the appropriate removal steps for the installed version.
     • Reinstall Office for Mac and apply all updates.
   • After reinstalling, test before reconnecting any third‑party add‑ins or automation tools.

If none of these steps change the behavior, collect details (exact Word build, macOS version, whether it reproduces in a new profile and clean startup) and contact Microsoft Support or post on the Word Tech Community or Word Forum on Answers for targeted investigation.

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References:

• Word for Mac error: "Microsoft Word has encountered a problem and needs to close"
• Are there known problems with Tahoe and Adobe - Microsoft Q&A
• We're Sorry but Word Has Run Into an Error - Microsoft Q&A
• Microsoft Word might repeatedly open new, blank documents without being prompted
• Office documents are not rendering as expected
• Locally saved Word files with capitalized file extensions or # in the title may be deleted after save