Microsoft Word Stopped Responding Mac

What to Do When Word Not Responding Mac? Disable the Add-ins: 2. Remove the Auto Recovery Folder: 3. Check the Word Document Name: 4. Try MS Office Application Recovery: 5. Update Mac Word to the Latest: 6. Open Word in Safe Mode: 7. Reset the Default Word Preferences: 8. Microsoft AutoUpdate for Mac, which comes with Office, can keep your Microsoft software up to date. When AutoUpdate is set to check for updates automatically on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, there's no need to search for critical updates and information.

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The first thing that you need to fix Word not responding on Mac is either disable or remove the add-ins from your Mac. The incompatibility of the third party add-ins often causes crashing or other issues with Word. Even the 64-bit or 32-bit version of the Add-ins can affect the applications. Thus, you have to disable them as soon as possible. Microsoft AutoUpdate for Mac, which comes with Office, can keep your Microsoft software up to date. When AutoUpdate is set to check for updates automatically on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, there's no need to search for critical updates and information; AutoUpdate delivers them directly to your computer.

Note

Office 365 ProPlus is being renamed to Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. For more information about this change, read this blog post.

Symptoms

When you start Microsoft Word for Mac, or when you try to open a new document, you experience one of the following conditions:

  • The program closes unexpectedly.

  • Error message:

Note

This error message may also occur during usage of application such as saving a document.

Resolution

To resolve this problem, follow steps below.

Microsoft Word for Mac 2008 or Later

Word Stopped Responding Mac

Step 1: Quit all applications

  1. On the Apple menu, click Force Quit.

  2. Select an application in the 'Force Quit Applications' window.

  3. Click Force Quit.

  4. Repeat the previous steps until all active applications.

Warning

When an application is force quit, any unsaved changes to open documents are not saved.

Step 2: Remove Preferences

  1. Quit all Microsoft Office for Mac programs.

  2. On the Go menu, click Home.

  3. Open Library.

    Note

    The Library folder is hidden in MAC OS X Lion. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.

  4. Open the Preferences folder.

  5. Look for a file that is named com.microsoft.Word.plist.

  6. If you locate the file, move it to the desktop. If you do not locate the file, the program is using the default preferences.

  7. If you locate the file and move it to the desktop, start Word, and check whether the problem still occurs. If the problem still occurs, quit Microsoft Word, and restore the file to its original location. Then, go to the next step. If the problem seems to be resolved, you can move the com.microsoft.Word.plist file to the trash.

  8. Quit all Microsoft Office for Mac programs.

  9. On the Go menu, click Home.

  10. Open Library.

    Note

    The Library folder is hidden in MAC OS X Lion. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.

  11. Open the Preferences folder.

  12. Open the Microsoft folder.

  13. Locate the file that is named com.microsoft.Word.prefs.plist.

  14. Move the file to the desktop.

  15. Start Word, and check whether the problem still occurs. If the problem still occurs, quit Word, and restore the file to its original location. Then, go to the next step. If the problem seems to be resolved, you can move the com.microsoft.Word.prefs.plist file to the trash.

  16. On the Go menu, click Home.

  17. Open Library.

    Note

    The Library folder is hidden in MAC OS X Lion. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.

  18. Open the Application Support folder.

  19. Open the Microsoft folder.

  20. Open the Office folder.

  21. Open the User Templates folder.

  22. Locate the file that is named Normal, and move the file to the desktop.

  23. Start Word and check whether the problem still occurs. If the problem seems to be resolved, you can move the Normal file to the Trash. If the issue continues to occur, proceed to the next step.

If the issue continues to occur, go to the next step.

Step 3: Peform clean boot

For information how to clean start your Operating system (OS), see Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

2398596 How to use a 'clean startup' to determine whether background programs are interfering with Office for Mac

If the issue continues to occur in Safe mode, go to the next step.

Step 4: Remove and then reinstall Office

For information how to remove and then reinstall Office, see the following article:

If after removing and then reinstalling Office, the problem continues to occur, go to the next step.

Step 5: Use the 'Repair Disk Permissions' option

You can use the Repair Disk Permissions option to troubleshoot permissions problems in Mac OS X 10.2 or later versions. To use the Repair Disk Permissions option, follow these steps:

  1. On the Go menu, click Utilities.
  2. Start the Disk Utility program.
  3. Click the primary hard disk drive for your computer.
  4. Click the First Aid tab.
  5. Click Repair Disk Permissions.

Note

The Disk Utility program only repairs software that is installed by Apple. This utility also repairs folders, such as the Applications folder. However, this utility does not repair software that is in your home folder.

Microsoft Word 2004 for Mac

  1. Quit all Microsoft Office for Mac programs.

  2. On the Go menu, click Home.

  3. Open Library.

    Note

    The Library folder is hidden in MAC OS X Lion. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.

  4. Open the Preferences folder.

  5. Look for a file that is named com.microsoft.Word.plist.

  6. If you locate the file, move it to the desktop. If you do not locate the file, the program is using the default preferences.

  7. If you locate the file and move it to the desktop, start Word, and check whether the problem still occurs. If the problem still occurs, quit Word, and restore the file to its original location. Then, go to the next step. If the problem seems to be resolved, you can move the com.microsoft.Word.plist file to the trash.

  8. Qit all Microsoft Office for Mac programs.

  9. On the Go menu, click Home.

  10. Open Library.

    Note

    The Library folder is hidden in MAC OS X Lion. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.

  11. Open the Preferences folder.

  12. Open the Microsoft folder.

  13. Look for a file that is named com.microsoft.Word.prefs.plist.

  14. Move the file to the desktop.

  15. Start Word, and check whether the problem still occurs. If the problem still occurs, quit Word, and restore the file to its original location. Then, go to the next step. If the problem seems to be resolved, you can move the com.microsoft.Word.prefs.plist file to the trash.

  16. On the Go menu, click Home.

  17. Open the Documents folder.

  18. Open the Microsoft User Data folder.

  19. Locate the file that is named Normal, and move the file to the desktop.

  20. Start Word, and check whether the problem still occurs. If the problem seems to be resolved, you can move the Normal file to the trash.

Third-party disclaimer information

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, about the performance or reliability of these products.

The information and the solution in this document represent the current view of Microsoft Corporation on these issues as of the date of publication. This solution is available through Microsoft or through a third-party provider. Microsoft does not specifically recommend any third-party provider or third-party solution that this article might describe. There might also be other third-party providers or third-party solutions that this article does not describe. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, this information should not be interpreted to be a commitment by Microsoft. Microsoft cannot guarantee or endorse the accuracy of any information or of any solution that is presented by Microsoft or by any mentioned third-party provider.

Summary

When Microsoft Office Word suddenly stops working or fails to open a document on Windows 10/8/7, don't worry. You can follow fixes on this page to resolve Microsoft Word has stopped working issue and use EaseUS file recovery software to bring the lost Word files back with ease.

The solutions for Microsoft Office Word has stopped working and Word file recovery can also be applied to fix similar issues on other Office apps, such as Excel, PowerPoint, etc.

Workable SolutionsStep-by-step Troubleshooting
Method 1. Restore with SoftwareRun EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard > Choose the Word file location > Scan all lost data..Full steps
Method 2. Restore Unsaved Word File

For Windows, check AutoRecover

For Mac, check Temporary Folder

Then restore unsaved Word..Full steps

Microsoft Word Has Stopped Working 2016/2013/2010/2007

With the increasing fame of Microsoft Office, its applications like Word have gained worldwide users' favor. Microsoft wireless gaming receiver mac yosemite. Microsoft has built a powerful support team to help users resolve all kinds of issues while using Office applications.

Microsoft Word Stopped Responding On Mac

'Microsoft Office Word just stops working' is one of the top concerned questions among Word users.

Usually, when the 'stopped working' error shows up, you have two available options to undertake: checking online for a solution or closing and restarting the program for a try.

If you are facing this error in Microsoft Word 2016, 2013, 2010 or 2007, read on and check the provided solutions below to get rid of this issue with ease.

Part 1. Fix 'Microsoft Word Has Stopped Working' Error in Windows 10/8/7

To find the right solutions to remove this error on Windows PC, it's highly necessary to know the reasons that cause your Word malfunction. Here are the main reasons:

  • Office edition isn't compatible with the current OS on your PC.
  • Word is out of date.
  • The device driver is out of date.
  • Word Add-in issue.
  • Word file issue.

Note: Once Word suddenly stops working, wait for the program to process firstly and try your best to save the editing document.

If you've waited for a very long period, nothing happens. Click 'Close the program' on the pop-up window in Word. Let's learn a few tips to get rid of the error immediately!

3 Quick Fixes

Applies to: Resolve Microsoft Word application gets stuck, showing blank or stuck on startup.

# 1. Use Task Manager to End Task of Running Microsoft Word

Step 1. Press Ctrl+T+Del keys to bring up Task Manager.

Microsoft word 2013 not responding

Step 2. In the Process tab, find Microsoft Word and select to end its task.

After this, you can restart to check if the Word work or not.

# 2. Boot Windows into Safe Mode

Step 1. Reboot PC, on the sign-in screen, hold the Shift key and click 'Power', select 'Restart'.

Step 2. You'll be presented with an options screen, select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart.

Step 3. Press F4 when the computer is booting up and then it will start in Safe Mode.

Step 4. Run Microsoft Office Word to check if it can work smoothly or not.

# 3. Check if Office Is Activated

Step 1. Open a new Word file, click 'File' > 'Account'.

Step 2. Check the Product Information at the right pane, see if your Word is activated or not.

If not, re-activate your Microsoft Office Word with a genuine serial key.

After this, you should be able to use Word to continue with your work again.

3 Fixes for Microsoft Office Word Keeps Crashing, Not Working

Applies to: Fix MS Office Word repeatedly crashes, won't start-up, isn't working issues.

If the Word keeps crashing when you try to open a document on your PC, relax. Here, you'll find 3 reliable methods that will help you fix this issue, making your Word work again.

Fix 1. Repair Office Installation

According to some experienced users, when Microsoft Office contains errors, it would prevent users from opening a Word or edit any files.

The application would directly shut down no matter you want to create a new document or continue editing a file. The direct solution towards this issue is to repair Office installation with below steps:

Step 1. In Windows 10, 8 or 7, open Control Panel, click 'Programs and Features' and click on 'Microsoft Office'.

Step 2. Locate and select your Microsoft Office, and click 'Change' in the top menu.

Step 3. On the window, click 'Repair' and then 'Continue'.

For Newer versions of Microsoft Office users, you can choose 'Online Repair'or 'Quick Repair' and click 'Repair'.

Step 4. Let the repair finish and restart your computer.

When the repair process finishes, open your Word application to check if the error appears again.

Fix 2. Install Latest Windows Update or Office Update

When your Office version or Windows system is out of date, Microsoft Office may stop working and even crashes. Here are the steps to install the latest updates of Windows or Microsoft Office:

# 1. Install Latest Windows Update

Step 1. Press Windows + I to open Windows Settings.

Step 2. Click 'Update & Security' and select 'Check for updates' under Windows Update.

Step 3. If a new Windows update window pops up, click 'Install Now' and follow the instructions to install the available update.

# 2. Install Microsoft Office Update

For Office 2013 and newer versions:

Step 1. Open an Office application - Excel or Word, click 'File'.

Step 2. Click 'Account' > 'Product Information' > 'Update Options' .

Step3. Click 'Enable Update' and then select 'Update Now'.

Note: If the Enable Update button is not available, it means that the automatic update feature is enabled.

For Office 2010 or older versions:

Step 1. Open an Office application - Excel or Word, click 'File' > 'Help'.

Step 2. Click 'Check for Updates' or 'Install Updates' option.

Follow the instructions to finish the process. After this, you can re-open a Word document or create a new Word file again.

Fix 3. Uninstall and Reinstall MS Office

Note: This fix may cause your activation key invalid after the reinstallation of MS Office. Make sure that your activation key can be used twice before taking the below steps.

Step 1. Keep your MS Office activation key and save it to another secure device.

Step 2. Open Control Panel, click 'Program and Features', then locate and select Microsoft Office.

Step 3. Click 'Uninstall' in the top menu.

Step 4. Re-install Microsoft Office on your PC and activate it with your serial key.

If your old key fails to activate the newly installed MS Office, please contact the Microsoft support team for help: https://support.microsoft.com/contactus.

5 Methods to Resolve 'Word Document Is Not Working' Issue

Applies to: Resolve Word is not working issues, such as Word file won't open, cannot access document content in Word, etc., on Windows 10/8/7.

Method 1. Insert Not Opening/Working Word Document into Another New File

Step 1. Run Microsoft Office Word, and create a blank new file.

Step 2. Click 'Insert' from the top ribbon menu, click 'Text'.

Step 3. Click 'Object' and select ' Text from File'.

Step 4. Select the target Word document which is unopenable or not working, and click 'Insert'.

Step 5. Check the document content and save it as a new file on your PC.

Method 2. Disable Add-ins in MS Word

Step 1. Press Windows + R keys and type: winword.exe /a and hit Enter to open MS Word without plugins.

Step 2. Click 'File' > 'Options' > 'Add-Ins'.

Step 3. Click 'Manage' at the bottom and select COM Add-ins, click 'Go' to uncheck the problematic ones and click 'OK' to confirm.

After this, restart Word to check if the issue has been resolved.

Method 3. Remove or Update Old Printer Drivers

Step 1. Open Device Manager, and locate your printer.

Step 2. Right-click on your printer drivers and select 'Uninstall' or 'Update drivers'.

Step 3. Uninstall or update old printer driver.

  • For uninstalling driver - click 'OK' and restart PC.
  • For updating driver - click 'Search automatically for updated driver software' and follow the instruction to finish the process, and restart PC. Or, you can download relative driver form your printer website and install it on your PC.

Method 4. Remove or Delete Word Registry Keys

Step 1. Bring up Registry Editor by typing: regedit in the search bar and hit Enter.

Step 2. Click 'Yes' to open Registry and follow the path to locate Word options key: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice16.0WordOptions.

Word Not Responding Save Document

Step 3. Locate and right-click the key, and select 'Export'.

Step 4. Save the Options key as 'Wddata.reg' and save it on your Desktop.

Step 5. Go back to Registry Editor and locate the Options key, and delete it from the menu.

Step 6. Exit Registry Editor.

Microsoft office mac 2014 student. iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, Late 2015).

After this, restart your Word and check if the problem is resolved.

If the problem still exists, run the Wddata.reg on your Desktop to restore the deleted key.

Method 5. Replace the Normal.dot Global Template File

To do so, you need to close all running Office programs on your PC. Then, follow the steps below to start:

Step 1. Press Windows + X and select 'Command Prompt (Admin)'.

Sign in if the program requires administrator permission.

Step 2. Enter the command below and hit Enter:

Step 3. Wait for the command to finish and exit Command Prompt.

After this, restart your Word application to check if you can use it to edit documents or create new files again.

Part 2. Recover Lost or Unsaved Files after Fixing Word Stopped Working Error

Another big issue that concerns users the most is the lost or unsaved Word file when Word application stopped working. Only after fixing the Word has stopped working error, can you have the opportunity to open the MS Word application and check out if your document is lost or closed without saving.

To fully resolve this issue, you'll have two solutions to bring your lost Word file back:

Solution 1. Restore Lost Word Document with File Recovery Software

Applies to: Restore Word document (saved on local PC drive) that was lost after MS Office has stopped working.

When the word document gets lost due to Office Word application stopped working or unexpected error, your best choice is to follow solutions listed in Part 1 to repair MS Office Word to work first.

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard will scan your local drive and restore the lost Word document in only 3 simple steps:

Step 1. Choose the Word file location.

Do you know where you lost Word files? Choose the hard disk drive or a specific folder and click the San button. If it's on a USB flash drive or SD card, take one more step to connect it to your computer.

Step 2. Scan all lost data.

The software will start immediately scanning all lost data on the selected drive, and you'll see more and more data showing up in the scan results. After the scan, use the quickest way to the wanted Word documents by choosing 'Documents' from the drop-down list in 'Filter'.

Step 3. Select Word files and recover.

Word stopped responding mac

You're allowed to preview a Word file if you have Microsoft Word application installed on your computer. Finally, select the desired documents and click 'Recover'.

Solution 2. Restore Unsaved Word File

As you know, Microsoft Office has an AutoSave feature that will automatically save a Word file when you're editing. And these temporarily saved files are located in an AutoRecover folder.

When you open the Word file and find out that the closed Word file is lost without saving, you can simply recover the lost unsaved Word document there.

  • For a Windows user, check the link to recover unsaved Word documents.
  • For a Mac user, check this link to see how to recover unsaved Word document on Mac.

Part 3. Tips to Back Up and Protect Word File

If you are looking for a reliable method to fix 'Word has stopped working' error, solutions included in the above two parts are capable to help you out.

2018-9-30  Text to speech for Microsoft Word on the Mac How do I have my Mac read text from a Word file back to me? I have used this option often before, but cannot find it now. Responses to similar requests on the Internet indicated to add the function to the Quick Access Toolbar, but I do not see this as one of the available commands. You can use the Text to Speech feature to hear selected text read aloud in a Microsoft Office for Mac file. If you have not already done so, set up the Text to Speech. Download this app from Microsoft Store for Windows 10, Windows 10 Mobile, Windows Phone 8.1, Windows 10 Team (Surface Hub), HoloLens. See screenshots, read the latest customer reviews, and compare ratings for Convert Text to Speech. Is macOS Sierra text to speech not working for you? The location of turning it on has changed a bit in Sierra when compared to OS X Mavericks. But whether you are using Sierra or OS X we have got you covered in this tutorial to convert text to speech on Mac. Text to speech microsoft word.

If you prefer a more comprehensive plan to protect your precious Word documents, stay here. Two reliable Word backup tips are available here for you to try:

# 1. Enable Auto-Save Feature in Word

Applies to: Back up and save editing Word document.

Step 1. Open MS Word application and create a new file, click 'File' > 'Option'.

Step 2. Click 'Save' and check the below two boxes:

  • 'Save AutoRecover information every * munites' (set a time for autosave - every 2 or 5 minutes will be good)
  • 'Keep the last autosaved version if I close without saving'

Step 3. Click 'OK'to confirm.

# 2. Back Up Saved Word File with File Backup Software

Applies to: Back up saved Word file on your local drive.

Mar 19, 2020  Split from this thread. Hello There, I've been trying to reset the default settings for Microsoft Word 2016, on a MacBook Air 13 inch (mid-2012; purchased 2013) and running macOS Sierra 10.12.6 and I previously had Microsoft Home and Student 2011 simultaneously installed with 2016 (Office 365 software from the Universty of Maryland ). Nov 29, 2017  To reset Word 2016 for Mac to the default settings, you can follow these steps: 1. Quit all Office applications. Open Finder and go to /Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User Content/Templates, move Normal.dotm to Desktop. Restore microsoft word to default settings mac. Dec 17, 2019  The fastest way to return all of your format settings to their default values is by deleting (RENAMING!!) Word’s Normal template. Change the Normal template (Normal.dotm ) Windows users can can find it in C:Usersuser nameAppDataRoamingMicrosoftTemplates. Mac users don’t have to worry, because it just works. When you troubleshoot unusual behavior in the program or in a document, first determine whether the problem might be caused by formatting, options, or settings. If the behavior occurs in multiple documents, we recommend that you try to reset Microsoft Word to the program's default settings. Change the default font. Open the template or a document based on the template whose default settings you want to change. On the Format menu, click Font, and then click the Font tab. Make any changes that you want, and then click Default. Note: Most of the styles in Word are based on the Normal.

Reliable file backup software like EaseUS Todo Backup can help you effectively back up important files including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. on a local drive with ease.

The back up will be a lifesaver to immediately bring your hard word back once you lose it due to unknown reasons.

Why Is Word Not Responding

Download and follow below 3 steps to safely back up your Word file with ease:

Tip
You'd better create the backup file on an external disk or on the cloud in case the local backup gets corrupted or destroyed.

Step 1: Launch EaseUS Todo Backup software and then choose 'File Backup', 'Disk/partition Backup' or 'System Backup' for different backup purpose.

Step 2: Choose the system, disk partition, files or apps that you want to back up. Then select a destination where you want to store the backup file.

Step 3: Click 'Proceed' to start the data backup process.

People Also Ask

1. How do I fix Microsoft Word has stopped working?

When MS word has stopped working, you can fix it by repairing Office installation.

Step 1. Open Control Panel, click “Programs and Features' and click on 'Microsoft Office'.

Step 2. Locate and select your Microsoft Office, and click 'Change' in the top menu.

Microsoft Word Stopped Responding Mac

Step 3. On the window, click 'Repair' and then 'Continue'. For Newer versions of Microsoft Office users, you can choose 'Online Repair' or 'Quick Repair' and click 'Repair'.

Step 4. Let the repair finish and restart your computer.

2. Why is my Microsoft Word not opening?

Microsoft Word 2016 Not Responding Windows 10

When there are a few corrupted documents, or you have an issue with a Word or 3rd party add-on, your Word maybe not opening.

3. How do you restart Microsoft Word?

Step 1. Go to the Tools Menu, then Customize, then click options.

Step 2. Choose the option for the Reset menu and toolbar usage data. This will put your toolbars back to the original settings. If you would like to reset your settings further, move on to the steps below.

4. Why has my office 365 stopped working?

When Microsoft Office 365, 2016 or 2013 stops working or not opening on your PC, you can also use the Office repair feature to get the problem fixed in Windows 10/8/7: right-click on Office 365, Office 2016 or Office 2013 > Select Change; click Online Repair > click on Repair button.

5. How do I fix Outlook has stopped working?

Word For Mac Not Responding

When you happen to encounter Outlook 2016 Not Responding in Windows 10, you can try to fix by using Outlook recovery software; start Outlook in Safe Mode; install Outlook updates; repair Office program, or repair Outlook data files.