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Note
Sometimes, MS Word doesn’t respond when there is an impending update available for the software. This can be resolved by simply updating to the latest version of MS Word. Open MS Word on Mac and open the Top Menu. Click on the Help option and there you will see the Check for Updates option. If you’re having problems with Office 2016 for Mac especially Outlook 2016 crashes, Word 2016 crashing or Office 2016 crashing in Sierra, High Sierra or Mojave here’s a comprehensive list of solutions to repair Office 2016 on Mac. If you need a quick fix or are in a hurry.
Apr 16, 2018 Step 1: Clear the Auto Recovery folder. Try to clear the Auto Recovery folder. To do this, follow these steps: On the Go menu, click Home. Open Documents. Open Microsoft User Data. Open the Office Autorecovery folder. Note You do not have to delete files in this folder. Microsoft is aware of and currently working on this issue. If you've activated Office for Mac 2016 but are still seeing a message that says 'You need to activate Office for Mac within X days,' please try these steps to resolve your issue: Run the License Removal Tool.
Office 365 ProPlus is being renamed to Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. For more information about this change, read this blog post.
Summary
Existing Office 2016 for Mac customers will be seamlessly upgraded to 64-bit versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote as part of the August product release (version 15.25). This affects customers of all license types: Retail, Office 365 Consumer, Office 365 Commercial, and Volume License installations.
Deployment options for the 64-bit update
AutoUpdate (MAU)
Customers who use Microsoft AutoUpdate (MAU) to keep their Office applications up-to-date will see a 'regular' monthly update notification when their selected channel is upgraded to 64-bit builds. Depending on which version is installed on the local computer, MAU will offer either a delta or full update. The update package size does not change between 32-bit and 64-bit versions. Also, MAU can deliver a delta update when applicable to update a user from 32-bit to 64-bit applications. Therefore, customers won't experience a sharp increase in download activity. For the release to the Production channel, customers will see '(64-bit)' in the update title to make them aware that this is a 64-bit update.
For information about how to use the MAU, see Check for Office for Mac updates automatically.
Manual updates
The August release of Office for Mac is available for manual download. The following file provides a 64-bit package to replace existing 32-bit applications with 64-bit variants during installation:
Download the Microsoft Office 2016 for Mac August update package now.
Virus-scan claim
Microsoft scanned this file for viruses, using the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help prevent any unauthorized changes to it.
Volume License Service Center
Volume License customers typically get their Office 2016 software from the Volume License Service Center (VLSC). These builds are refreshed infrequently and are typically aligned with new language editions. The VLSC will continue to offer 32-bit installers (15.23) until November 2016. However, all updater packages that are released after August will be based on 64-bit builds. Therefore, a VLSC customer who updates either manually or through AutoUpdate will be transitioned to 64-bit builds.
More Information
64-bit only
The Mac operating system has been 64-bit for several years. Unlike for Windows, there's no choice between running a 32-bit or 64-bit version of the Mac operating system. Similarly, we won't offer a choice between 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Office 2016 for Mac. After each 'channel' is transitioned per the rollout schedule, only 64-bit builds will be available.
Effect on third-party applications and add-ins
The transition to 64-bit Office for Mac was announced on the Office developer blog in April 2016. This website is the primary reference for third-party vendors to understand the change and the effect on their products. IT Pros will want to understand which compiled add-ins are deployed to the users whom they manage so that they can assess the effect of the upgrade. The following Microsoft Office website summarizes the issues that affect the more common add-ins that are used together with Office 2016 for Mac:
Tools for inspecting product architecture
To verify the architecture of an Office application (that is, to understand whether you have a 32-bit or 64-bit build), start the application, open the Activity Monitor, and then enable the Kind column.
You can also use the file command in a terminal session to inspect the binary. For this use, type file -N <path of binary>.This method can be used with for any binary file, including third-party add-ins.
The file command returns one of three values.
Return value | Meaning |
---|---|
Mach-O 64-bit executable x86_64 | 64-bit binary |
Mach-O executable i386 | 32-bit binary |
Mach-O 64-bit executable x86_64 | FAT binary (compatible with both 32-bit and 64-bit processes) |
Mach-O executable i386 | FAT binary (compatible with both 32-bit and 64-bit processes) |
Options for reverting to 32-bit installations
There may be situations in which the customer has to change code that's not 64-bit ready. If customers can't immediately move forward to 64-bit builds, we will make available a one-time 32-bit update for the 15.25 release in addition to the default 64-bit updates. The 32-bit updates will be available only for manual download from the Office CDN.
The latest 32-bit release of Office 2016 for Mac (15.25.160818) can be downloaded from https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=823192.
Customers who manually install the 32-bit release won't be offered the 64-bit version of 15.25 through MAU. However, MAU will offer the 64-bit version of 15.26 in September 2016. Therefore, customers have a limited time to remain on 32-bit builds.
If a customer has already upgraded to the 64-bit update of Office for Mac 15.25 and wants to revert to the 32-bit version, follow these steps:
- Exit all open Office 2016 applications.
- Start Safari, and then browse to https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=823192 to start the download of the 32-bit installer.
- Double-click the downloaded package, and then follow the instructions.
The 64-bit installation has a build date of 160817. The 32-bit version has a build date of 160818.
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.
- Open library and type Library in the Go to the Folder and hit the Go button.
- Look for a folder which says “Preferences”. This folder contains the preferences file you set for the MS Word program.
- 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.
- 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.
- Choose the File Locations option and select the “User templates”.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
- Inside the Go menu, choose the Utilities option and start the Disk Utility program.
- Make sure that you choose the Primary hard disk of your Mac and then click on the “First Aid” tab.
- 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
Microsoft Word Mac Not Opening
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 2016 Won T Open On Mac Microsoft Word 2016 Won T Open On Mac](/uploads/1/2/6/4/126469474/729716329.png)
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.
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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