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- Microsoft Word Documents Automatically Open Up On Mac 2017
- Can't Open Word On Mac
- Microsoft Word Documents Automatically Open Up On Mac 2017
- Unable To Open Word File In Mac
Note
Office 365 ProPlus is being renamed to Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. For more information about this change, read this blog post.
- Have you been trying to open a word document but failing unknowingly? If yes, then you might want to know why Microsoft word won't open on Mac. In case you are facing troubles with MS Word, we are providing you plausible solutions to the problem.
- When you start Excel, all the files that are located in the XLStart folder are automatically opened. This behavior occurs regardless of the kind of file. Additionally, if you specified an alternative startup folder for Excel, every file in that folder is also automatically opened. To remove an.
- Launch Pages (it’s in the Applications folder of your Mac). In the window that automatically opens when you launch the app, navigate to the location of your Word file. For example, if it’s in.
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:
Jan 11, 2017 How to Automatically Open the Most Recent Document in Microsoft Word for Windows Lori Kaufman @howtogeek January 11, 2017, 10:24am EDT If you’re working on a long document in Word, you’ll probably be opening it often until it’s completed. If everyone in the group has Word 2010, Word 2013, or Word for Mac 2011, continue working together in Word (click Open in Word and continue editing). If someone in the group doesn’t have one of those versions of Word, you need to remove the unsupported features from the document so that everyone can continue to work together in Word for the web.
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
Step 1: Quit all applications
- On the Apple menu, click Force Quit.
- Select an application in the 'Force Quit Applications' window.
- Click Force Quit.
- 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
- Quit all Microsoft Office for Mac programs.
- On the Go menu, click Home.
- Open Library.NoteThe Library folder is hidden in MAC OS X Lion. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.
- Open the Preferences folder.
- Look for a file that is named com.microsoft.Word.plist.
- If you locate the file, move it to the desktop. If you do not locate the file, the program is using the default preferences.
- 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.
- Quit all Microsoft Office for Mac programs.
- On the Go menu, click Home.
- Open Library.NoteThe Library folder is hidden in MAC OS X Lion. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.
- Open the Preferences folder.
- Open the Microsoft folder.
- Locate the file that is named com.microsoft.Word.prefs.plist.
- Move the file 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.prefs.plist file to the trash.
- On the Go menu, click Home.
- Open Library.NoteThe Library folder is hidden in MAC OS X Lion. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.
- Open the Application Support folder.
- Open the Microsoft folder.
- Open the Office folder.
- Open the User Templates folder.
- Locate the file that is named Normal, and move the file to the desktop.
- 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 https://yellowprimo136.weebly.com/how-can-i-get-microsoft-word-for-my-mac.html.
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:
- On the Go menu, click Utilities.
- Start the Disk Utility program.
- Click the primary hard disk drive for your computer.
- Click the First Aid tab.
- 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
- Quit all Microsoft Office for Mac programs.
- On the Go menu, click Home.
- Open Library.NoteThe Library folder is hidden in MAC OS X Lion. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.
- Open the Preferences folder.
- Look for a file that is named com.microsoft.Word.plist.
- If you locate the file, move it to the desktop. If you do not locate the file, the program is using the default preferences.
- 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.
- Qit all Microsoft Office for Mac programs.
- On the Go menu, click Home.
- Open Library.NoteThe Library folder is hidden in MAC OS X Lion. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.
- Open the Preferences folder.
- Open the Microsoft folder.
- Look for a file that is named com.microsoft.Word.prefs.plist.
- Move the file 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.prefs.plist file to the trash.
- On the Go menu, click Home.
- Open the Documents folder.
- Open the Microsoft User Data folder.
- Locate the file that is named Normal, and move the file to the desktop.
- 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.
-->Note
Office 365 ProPlus is being renamed to Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. For more information about this change, read this blog post.
Microsoft Word Documents Automatically Open Up On Mac 2017
Summary
This article describes how to prevent files from automatically opening when you start Microsoft Excel.
More information
When you start Excel, all the files that are located in the XLStart folder are automatically opened. This behavior occurs regardless of the kind of file. Additionally, if you specified an alternative startup folder for Excel, every file in that folder is also automatically opened.To remove an alternative startup folder:
- Select the File menu and then select Options.
- Select the Advanced tab and then locate the General section.
- Clear the box next to 'At startup, open all files in:'.
Excel might stop responding or take longer to start if either of the following conditions is true:
- The files in either startup folder aren't valid Excel workbooks or worksheets.
- The files are stored on a network drive that has a slow network connection.
How to prevent files from automatically opening in Excel
Use one of the following methods to prevent files from automatically opening when you start Excel.
Remove files from the XLStart folder and the alternative startup folders
To remove files from the XLStart folder and the alternative startup folders, follow these steps:
- Select Start, and then select Run.
- In the Open box, type one of the following and press Enter:
- For Office365 or 2019 32 bit:C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft OfficerootxxXLSTART
- For Office365 or 2019 64 bit:C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficerootxxXLSTARTWhere 'xx' represents the version that you are using (for example, Office15, Office14, etc.).
Also try the following:- %appdata%MicrosoftexcelXLSTART
- C:UsersUserNameAppDataRoamingMicrosoftexcelXLSTART
- Delete any files in the XLStart folder or move them to another folder.
- Restart Excel.
Start Excel in safe mode
Note
This is only a temporary solution that will not fix the issue. To use this method, it must be done every time that you start Excel.
Another method for preventing files from automatically opening is to start Excel in safe mode. Starting Excel in safe mode prevents all Excel add-ins, toolbar customizations, and startup folders from loading when the program is started.
There are two ways to start Excel in safe mode: the CTRL key and command-line switches.
Using the CTRL key
To start Excel in safe mode, hold down the CTRL key while you start Excel. You will receive the following message: Excel has detected that you are holding down the CTRL key. Do you want to start Excel in Safe mode? Select Yes to start in safe mode.
You can then delete files from the alternative startup location as described earlier.
Use Command-line switches
In all versions of Excel, you can use a command-line switch to start Excel in safe mode.Both the /safe switch and the /automation switch can be used for this purpose.
Note
The /safe switch starts Excel in safe mode. The /automation switch disables all automatically opened files and auto-run macros.
To use a command-line switch to start Excel, follow these steps:
- Select Start, and then select Run.
- In the Open box, type either of the following lines (but not both):excel.exe /safeexcel.exe /automation
- Select OK.
Note
If Microsoft Windows Installer starts when you use one of these command-lines switches, clickCancel to finish starting Excel.
Press the ESCAPE key
Can't Open Word On Mac
Note
This is only a temporary solution that will not fix the issue. To use this method, it must be done every time that you start Excel.
Another method for preventing files from automatically opening is to press the ESCAPE key (but do not press and hold). When you press ESCAPE after the files start to open, Excel is prevented from opening additional files.
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Using this method, you may receive one or both of the following messages:
- Would you like to cancel opening all files from your Alternate Startup File Location?
- Would you like to cancel opening all files from your XLStart Location?
If you click Yes in either message, Excel starts without opening any additional files from the startup locations.
Note
Do not hold the ESCAPE key. If you do this, the messages will be closed before you can click Yes.
Microsoft Word Documents Automatically Open Up On Mac 2017
References
Unable To Open Word File In Mac
For more information about Excel startup folders, see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base articles: