May 31,2019 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions

Excel for Office 365 for Mac PowerPoint for Office 365 for Mac Excel 2016 for Mac PowerPoint 2016 for Mac Excel for Mac 2011 PowerPoint for Mac 2011 More. Less AutoRecover, a feature that is available in some Office applications, attempts to recover files automatically in the event of an application or system crash. May 31, 2019 Part 1. Why Is Microsoft Word Frozen on Mac The very first step in the path for understanding why Word freezes on Mac is knowing some of the possible causes behind the program crashing so spectacularly and taking all your hard work down with it.

Microsoft Office applications are still among the most popular apps for both Windows users and Mac users. Let's face it, you don't see yourself writing your work on any other word processing program than Microsoft Word. However, Mac users have found a big problem, and it is Microsoft word freezing on mac.

As popular as these apps may be, they still can stir a bit of problem. In addition to Microsoft word keeps freezing on mac, there have been reports about Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook also freezing or crushing down and potentially taking your job down with them.

Just imagine this situation, you are working on the final draft of your term paper, you have all your creative juices flowing, you are about to provide an answer to an old question that will change the World's view on a subject, and all of the sudden Microsoft Word is frozen on mac.

Part 1. Why Is Microsoft Word Frozen on Mac

The very first step in the path for understanding why Word freezes on Mac is knowing some of the possible causes behind the program crashing so spectacularly and taking all your hard work down with it.

Here are some of the possible reasons behind this terrible ordeal:

  • Damage MS Office files/settings related to Word leads to the program crashing and/or freezing when attempting to use it.
  • Installing add-ons for Microsoft Word from third-party developers not authorized by Microsoft leads to the program crashing on startup.
  • A Conflict between Microsoft Word and other system software whenever you are attempting to edit a document causing it to become unresponsive and eventually crash.
  • Malware intrusion is another common cause, as there are viruses that will attack and corrupt Microsoft Word installation files.
  • Improper installation of Microsoft Word. It is possible the destination you've chosen to install the program could be damaged or corrupted, thus, causing Microsoft Word freezing on mac.
  • Issues with the location where the documents are saved, as mentioned above, malware and viruses tend to attack these sensitive files.
  • Lastly, when Microsoft Word crashes or freezes for the first time, if not dealt with in the right manner, it may lead to future problems, which is why it is important to know how to repair Word mac.

These are just some of the issues that may cause Word to crash or freeze. Additional problems come up when you attempt to save a document and the program crashes, shuts down, and taking your work down with it.

Is it safe to download microsoft silverlight on a mac. Silverlight is a Microsoft product that allows you to view video on certain websites much like Adobe Flash Player is required to watch most video online.It is not a virus but the notification you are receiving may indicate you have or had a infection of some sort that corrupted it.

Part 2. How to Fix 'Word Frozen on Mac'

The good news is that just as there are multiple reasons behind Word crashing or freezing, there are many more ways to fix the problem. However, listing and talking about each and every one of them will make for a very long guide, and you'll probably quit reading halfway through.

Thanks to the magic of the internet and the savviest Mac Users, there are three great ways to fix the problem when Word freezes on mac.

Here they are, the top three ways to learn how to fix 'Word Frozen on Mac'.

1. Update the MS Word to the latest version

One of the first things you need to check when you are dealing with troublesome programs is what version of it are you working with, and if there is an update available for download.

Have you noticed how some of the apps on your phone stop working right after a while? That is because new versions (or upgrades) are available on the store, this is a way of telling 'You really need to update the app to the newest version.'

Well, Microsoft software on Mac uses the same principle, after a couple new versions are made available your off dated one will start to malfunction.

This is how you do it:

  • Step 1. Open Microsoft Word (or any other Microsoft office app): Search for Microsoft Word on the Dock and open it.
  • Step 2. Click on the 'Help' Tab: Once you've open the app, look for the Help tab and click it open.
  • Step 3. Check for Updates: After clicking open the Help menu within the Word app, hit the Check for Updates option.
  • Step 4. Configure the AutoUpdate: In case you haven't already done it, make sure the 'Automatically Search for Updates' option is checked.
  • Step 5. Checking for Updates: After configuring the AutoUpdate Tool, the final step is to click on 'Check for Update at the bottom right corner of the window and let the program do its magic.

2. Update your Mac

As you might've imagined, if keeping your apps up to date is important, keeping your OS updated is even more important. This is the easiest way to do it:

  • Step 1. Click on the Apple Menu: Click open the apple menu and then hit the 'App Store' option.
  • Step 2. Open the 'Updates' Tab: After opening the App Store, click on the Update tab, it will display the number of updates available.
  • Step 3. Update Everything: Make sure you click Update on every single app. Or better yet, click on the 'Update All' option.
  • Step 4. Update (again!): After the program finishes installing all the updates, make sure you do all the steps again, as some updates will only appear when the latest version has been installed.

3. Force Quit Word on Mac

  • Option 1. Click on the Black Apple Menu: Click open the black Apple logo menu, and then click on the Force Quit Word option.
  • Option 2. You Can Also use the keyboard shortcut Option+Cmd+Esc, and select the app you want to force quit.

Part 3. How to Force Quit Word on Mac

Force quitting a frozen application is the same as killing the symptoms of an illness when you get sick instead of removing the virus altogether root and stem. You have to look at the bigger picture, find out and understand why the program is freezing or crashing.

Once you do that, you can begin to solve the real problem and prevent this from happening again. One of the main reasons behind Microsoft Word freezing on Mac is insufficient RAM.

Using the Force Quit option on Mac may resolve the problem, but it comes with its own downsides, especially when closing programs such as Word or Excel because if you haven't saved your work, it won't give you a chance to do it.

With all that in mind, follow these next few steps to learn what to do when Mac freezes on Word.

Use Apple Menu to Force Quit Word on Mac

This is by far the most conventional and effective way to deal with frozen programs.

  • Step 1. Black Apple Logo Menu: When dealing with a frozen Microsoft Word, click open the black Apple logo menu.
  • Step 2. Force Quit: After clicking the Apple drop menu, hit the 'Force Quit Word' option.
  • Step 3. Force Quit Applications Window: After selecting to force quit Word, a new window pops-up showing all the running applications, click on Microsoft Word and then click on Force Quit.

Use Mac Shortcut to Force Quit Word

A faster way to do the same as described above is through the keyboard shortcut, this is how you do it:

  • Step 1. Look at Your Keyboard: Look at your keyboard and press the combination Cmd+Option+Esc, and a window will pop-up.
  • Step 2. Force Quitting Word: After hitting the previous keyboard combination, the For Quit Applications appears, select Microsoft Word and then click on the 'Force Quit' button.

Use the Dock to Force Close Word

Using the Dock to Force Quit Applications is yet another effective way to deal with rogue apps, and it is also very simple to do.

  • Step 1. Seek and Destroy: Look for the Microsoft Word icon on the Dock, while pressing the keys Control+Option click on it.
  • Step 2. Force Quit: A menu will appear, click on the 'Force Quit' option (the last one) and the program will get shutdown.

Use Activity Monitor to Force Quit Word

This is by far the best option available when dealing with rogue apps in Mac OS. The Activity Monitor functions almost in the same way as the Task Manager does on Windows. To access it and terminate a frozen Word document all you have to do is follow these steps.

  • Step 1. Press Cmd+Space: On your keyboard press and hold the keys Cmd and Space, or you can also click on Spotlight.
  • Step 2. Type in Activity Monitor: Once Spotlight its up, type the command Activity Monitor in the search bar.
  • Step 3. Activity Monitor Icon: Once you see the Activity Monitor icon click it open.
  • Step 4. Activity Monitor: Once the Activity Monitor window pops open, you'll see a list of all the running programs and processes on your computer.
  • Step 5. Find the Microsoft Word logo: Once you have located the program you want to shut down, in this case, Microsoft Word, click on it and then click on 'Force a Process to Quit' on the left corner.

Part 4. How to Recover Word Documents on Mac

If you have ever had to deal with Microsoft word frozen on mac unsaved document, you know exactly how frustrating this situation can be. Similar situations include accidentally closing the program without saving first or formatting the partition where you saved all your documents.

Whichever you are going through it is safe to assume you are losing your mind trying to find a way to resolve the situation. Luckily for you, there are many ways to recover your lost Word documents.

Recoverit - The Best Word File Recovery Software

If you are looking for the best and most efficient way to recover lost documents, look no further, Recoverit Data Recovery software for Mac is the best recovery tool available on the Web to handle this sort of situations.

The program is very simple to use, it has a super user-friendly interface, and overall, it is very intuitive and easy to follow. With the help of this software, you'll be able to recover lost, formatted, and otherwise, unobtainable documents from your Mac you thought were lost forever.

Recoverit - The Best Word File Recovery Software

  • Recover Word documents from all storage devices like Mac.
  • Recover 1000+ types and formats of files in different situations.
  • Scan and preview the files before you recover them from MacBook hard drive.

How to Recover Word Files on Mac

After installing the program, make sure to follow these steps carefully.

Step 1: Choose a Recovery Mode

Run the program and select the recovery mode you need, in this case, Deleted Files Recovery.

Step 2: Choose the location to be scan

Once you've selected the right recovery mode, you have to choose the location to be scan, and click the 'Start' button.

Step 3: Preview and Recover

Once the program is finished scanning the location you've selected, a list containing all the recoverable files will appear. All you have to do now is pick those you want to retrieve and click on the 'Recover' button.

Part 5. Tips against Word Frozen on Mac

  • Always save your documents. Make sure you make it a habit of saving all your work as you go along.
  • Check for Updates. One way to prevent MS Word from crashing or freezing is to keep it updated. Additionally, check for all available Mac Updates for MS Office.
  • Keep your RAM free. Before running MS Word (or any other app) Make sure you free some space from your RAM memory. Go to Activity Monitor app and terminate all the processes or programs you are not using.
  • Avoid third-party Add-Ons. Many Mac users tend to 'decorate' their MS Word with third-party add-ons, most of which come from questionable developers and tend to force the program to crash regularly.
  • Keep your Mac OS updated. Lastly, make sure you are always running the latest OS available for your Mac. This way, you avoid any conflicts between off-dated and updated files.

Conclusion

On a final note, no one wants to go through the terrible ordeal of Word documents missing from their computers or dealing with a crashing app that does not let you get any work done. Hopefully, all the information and steps you've found in here will help you solve any issues you may encounter while using MS Word on Mac.

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Apr 01,2020 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions

“I was trying to use MS Word but it crashed unexpectedly. Now my Microsoft Word will not open on my Mac and I don’t know what to do. I keep on trying to open different files but every time it crashes after a few seconds. How can i fix it?”

Just like any other software program, MS Word is also susceptible to issues. You will find unlimited queries on forum sites asking “why won’t my Word document open on my Mac”. Most of the people have no idea why their Microsoft Word stopped working randomly. If you are also facing a similar situation, then you will have to look for an appropriate solution that can fix this issue.

In this article, we are going to discuss the potential fixes that can resolve the Microsoft Word not working issue.

Part 1. Why Won’t Microsoft Word Open on Mac Computer?

As the MS Word is a widely used program, a malfunction could get tragic real soon. Before you get to solutions, it is essential that you go through the reasons of this problem first. The common causes of these issues are.

  • Inappropriate Shutdown or system crash
  • Shift + Delete and the file is deleted permanently from the device.
  • Formatted drives
  • Damaged and corrupted files
  • Virus or malware attack

Unless you have a brief idea about what caused the problem, you won’t be able to steer away from the common errors. The user's listed common symptoms that lead to the ”word won’t open on my Mac” issue are given below:

  • The application keeps closing without any warning.
  • MS Word encounters an unknown issue and needs to close.
  • Erase, Install, or re-install factory version of OS X
  • MS Word file can’t open due to an error.
Related: Further read and get 8 specific solutions to 'Word Keeps Crashing Mac'.

When you face a situation like this, don’t pain and look for solutions on the internet. If you are lucky, then you’ll come across real fixes soon. Otherwise, you might have to struggle to find an ideal fix.

Part 2. How to Fix 'Microsoft Word Not Opening Mac'?

With so many versions and updates on MS Word, it can get hard to simplify the solutions that would work for all versions. But, here is a summarized list of solutions that can work when Microsoft Word is not opening on Mac. All these methods are useful and easy to carry out. So, give them a try one by one.

Solution 1. Remove Word Preferences to Open Frozen Word

Sometimes, it is the random words combination or special characters that lead to such issues. It can be resolved if you follow the steps below.

  1. Open library and type Library in the Go to the Folder and hit the Go button.
  2. Look for a folder which says “Preferences”. This folder contains the preferences file you set for the MS Word program.
  3. Open the folder, search for a file named- 'com.microsoft.Word.plist' and move the file to the desktop. Now, try opening the Word file and see if the problem still persists. If it does, then move the file to its original location and move on to the next step.
  4. Exit every Microsoft program running on your Mac and click on the Word option in the Apple Menu. Tap on the “Preferences” option from the list.
  5. Choose the File Locations option and select the “User templates”.
  6. Locate the file which saved as Normal and moves it to the desktop.

Solution 2. Open and Repair Microsoft Word

Everyone knows how to open Microsoft Word on Mac but we are not talking about just opening and closing the files. You can also repair the MS Word files with the following steps.

Microsoft Word Is Frozen On Mac Pro

  1. Start MS Word and click on the File menu. Choose the Open option and it will open up a dialog box where you can select the Word file which needs repair.
  2. While you are selecting the file, at the right bottom side of the window, choose the Repair option and click on the Ok button.

The Mac utility will automatically repair the not opening Word file and you will be able to use it now.

2013-11-21  The Office for Mac 2011 training downloads include Portable Document Format (.pdf) and PowerPoint (.pptx) versions of all Office 2011 tutorials and videos. Important note for Office 365 subscriptions: After September 22, 2016, Office 2011 for Mac is no longer available for installation with an Office 365 subscription.This doesn't affect one-time purchases of Office for Mac 2011 such as, Office Home and Student, Office Home and Business, or Office Professional. Microsoft office for mac 2011 training. Follow this roadmap of training and Help topics to learn how to use Microsoft Excel for Mac 2011 in a systematic, step-by-step approach. Skip to main content. Save a file in Office for Mac. Use Excel for Mac 2011 to check out a SharePoint file so that only you can make changes. Download Office for Mac Preview from here, and you will receive updates automatically until the official release in the second half of 2015. Can I use the preview build alongside Office for Mac 2011? Yes, you can use the preview builds of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook for Mac alongside Office for Mac 2011. Other Microsoft sites.

Solution 3. Run Disk Utility to Repair Word

Besides the above methods fail, you can also run the Disk Utility to repair the Word file if the Microsoft Word is not opening on your Mac computer.

  1. Inside the Go menu, choose the Utilities option and start the Disk Utility program.
  2. Make sure that you choose the Primary hard disk of your Mac and then click on the “First Aid” tab.
  3. You will get a pop-up option which asks you to run First Aid on the drive. Hit the Run option and the Disk Utility will repair the Disk volume errors and permissions issues.

When the process finishes, click on “Done” and check whether the problem is fixed or not. There are maximum chances that the problem will be resolved. But if MS Word is still not responding correctly to commands, then there is one 100% guaranteed solution left to recover your Word Documents.

Solution 4. Recover Not Opening Word Files on Mac

While you are trying to repair the drive and Word files, it is common that the solutions don’t work as expected and the files get deleted from Mac. Here is the perfect solution if getting stuck in such circumstances without any recovery option.

The best tool available for Word file recovery on the internet is Recoverit Word Recovery software. This software is capable of recovering various kinds of deleted or lost data. For example, Word documents, PowerPoint, Excel files, PDF, photos, videos, songs, audios, and many more. It is a faster, easier, and 100% secure data recovery tool with the highest recovery rate in the market.

Watch the Video for Mac DOC Files Recovery

Now, let's have a look at the simple steps on Word document recovery. You only need to launch the Word file recovery software and do a few clicks.

Step 1: Select a location storing the Word file

To recover the not opening document caused by accidental deletion, you need to select the drive where the data files are lost. Then, click the 'Start' button.

Step 2: Scan the Word location for files

Typically, the software will run an all-around scan and search for the lost and deleted files on the entire drive. If you perform an emptied trash recovery or HFS+ data rescue, you can even try the deep scan mode.

Step 3: Preview and recover Word documents

Microsoft Word Has Frozen On My Mac

When the scan completes, the files will be listed on the screen. The software will sort out the files according to format to make the search easier. You can select multiple files at a time and have a preview at them.

Part 3. Tips Against 'Microsoft Word Won't Open on Mac'

If you don’t want to go through this problem, then you should have to take care of a few things. This way, you will be successful in avoiding the Microsoft Word won't open on Mac issue in the future. So, here are some tips that you need to follow:

  • Avoid relying on automated tools to clean up the cache or redundant files on your Mac. These tools often end up deleting the important files on the device.
  • In case you use the Command Line to delete a file, be careful as a single mistake can lead to bigger issues.
  • Never format a drive before creating a backup otherwise you might end up losing important files.
  • Stay focused while partitioning the drives on your Mac. Improper partitioning can lead to corruption of data files stored on the drive.
  • Avoid rushing commands on the MS Word. If you pass on multiple commands at once, then Word might get confused and the file might become inaccessible due to some random mistake.

Even a little mishandling can lead to major working issues in MS Word. So, instead of worrying about how you can rescue the data, try keeping the data safe on the first hand.

Microsoft Word Is Frozen On Mac 2017

Now you know how to open Word on Mac along with the process of repair. And if you are facing a dilemma and the want to recover Word files, then you can always think of using Recoverit Data recovery software.

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Word Freezes On Mac

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