Microsoft Word Freezes On Mac

Posted : admin On 10.04.2020
-->

When you save, Word for Mac crashes or quits Step 1: Download and install all Office updates. Step 2: Check the hard disc name. Step 3: Save to a different location. Step 4: Empty the AutoRecovery folder. Step 5: Remove Word preferences. Step 6: Create a new user account. Step 7: Test saving. Dec 20, 2019  More specifically, Outlook may randomly crash or freeze when you want to check your email. Another similar issue is that Outlook may become too slow to respond on your Mac. Some users have also stated that they were unable to launch the software. Mar 19, 2020  You can help protect yourself from scammers by verifying that the contact is a Microsoft Agent or Microsoft Employee and that the phone number is an official. The entire OS is hanging for 5-7 seconds and that makes the Word absolutely useless. Is to reset parameter RAM in your mac! (see discussion here https.

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 save a Word for Mac document, the application crashes or quits unexpectedly.

Resolution

Step 1: Download and install all Office updates

To obtain updates with Office for Mac applications, follow these steps:

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. To do this:

  1. Start any Office for Mac application on your computer.
  2. Click Help menu, click Check for Updates.

For additional information about Office for Mac updates, seeWhere and how to obtain Office for Mac software updates.

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

Step 2: Check the hard disc name

Make sure that your hard disc has a name. The name cannot be all numbers but can contain numbers. The name must start with a letter. It must not contain any special characters, such as periods, commas, semi-colons, quotation marks, and so on.

Step 3: Save to a different location

If you are saving a file in your Documents folder, instead try saving the file to the desktop or to a different location.

Remember that there is a 255-character limit to the file name, and the path of the saved file is included in the name. For example, a file that is saved to the desktop has the path 'HDusersyour user nameDesktop.' These characters are counted toward the 255-character limit.

If you want to save to a network share or to an external device (such as a flash drive), first save the file to your local hard disc. If you can save the file to the hard disc (your Documents folder), there is nothing wrong with the Excel installation or with the file. If you cannot save to your local hard disc, go to step 3.

If you cannot save the file to an external device, contact Apple or the manufacturer of the external device. If you cannot save to a network share, contact the network administrator (your IT department) or the owner of the share. If you do not have an IT department and you want to save to a network, contact Microsoft Professional Support.

Step 4: Empty the AutoRecovery folder

Important

The location of certain files are different if you have Service Pack 2 (SP2) installed. To check if it is installed, open Word, and then click About Word from the Word menu. If the version number is 14.2.0 or above, you have Service Pack 2 and you should follow the Service Pack 2 steps when provided in this article.

If there are too many items in the AutoRecovery folder (userDocumentsMicrosoft User DataOffice 2008 AutoRecovery or Office 2010 AutoRecovery), this can cause memory problems and save problems because these files are loaded into memory when Word is started.

Move AutoRecovery files to the desktop or to another folder to see whether they are causing the problem. To do this, follow these steps:

To empty the AutoRecovery folder, follow these steps if have version 14.2.0 (also known as Service Pack 2) installed:

  1. Quit all applications.

  2. On the File menu, click New Folder.

    A new folder is created on the desktop. The folder will be called 'New Folder.'

  3. On the Go menu, click Home.

  4. 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.

  5. Open Application Support, and then open Microsoft.

  6. Open Office 2011 AutoRecovery.

  7. On the Edit menu, click Select All.

  8. Drag all files into 'New Folder' on the desktop.

    The AutoRecovery folder should be empty.

  9. Open Excel for Mac 2011 and try to save a file.

    If you can save a file, review the contents of 'New Folder' to decide which files that you want to keep.

    If the problem continues to occur, go to the next method.

Microsoft Word Freezes On Mac Pro

To empty the AutoRecovery folder, follow these steps if you do not have Service Pack 2 installed:

  1. Quit all applications.

  2. On the File menu, click New Folder.

    A new folder is created on the desktop. The folder will be called 'New Folder.'

  3. On the Go menu, click Documents.

  4. Open Microsoft User Data, and then open Office 2011 AutoRecovery.

  5. On the Edit menu, click Select All.

  6. Drag all files into 'New Folder' on the desktop.

    The AutoRecovery folder should be empty.

  7. Open Excel for Mac 2011 and try to save a file.

    If you can save a file, review the contents of 'New Folder' to decide which files that you want to keep.

    If the problem continues to occur, go to the next method.

Step 5: Remove Word preferences

Microsoft

Note

Removing the preferences will remove any customizations that you made. These customizations include changes to toolbars and custom dictionaries and keyboard shortcuts that you created.

  1. Quit all Microsoft Office for Mac applications.

  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 Preferences.

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

    Build collaborative classrooms, connect in professional learning communities, and connect with colleagues when you get Office 365 – which includes Microsoft Teams and is free for your entire school. Access all the training and support you need to create a safe, secure,. Microsoft office for mac 365 university. Students and educators at eligible institutions can sign up for Office 365 Education for free, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and now Microsoft Teams, plus additional classroom tools. Use your valid school email address to get started today. Office 365 works like you: everywhere. Sep 09, 2013  Microsoft Office 365 university (for Mac) I have recently purchased Microsoft Office 365 University and followed the set up instructions re product key, created Microsoft account, provided details of Uni, including my student e-mail address, but 3 weeks on, I still have not received an e-mail back with install instructions. Collaborate for free with online versions of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote. Save documents, spreadsheets, and presentations online, in OneDrive.

  6. If you locate the file, move it to the desktop. If you cannot locate the file, the application 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 then 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 Office for Mac applications.

  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 Preferences, and then open Microsoft.

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

  13. Move the file to the desktop.

  14. Start Word, and then 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.

  15. On the Go menu, click Home.

  16. 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.

  17. Open Application Support, and then open Microsoft.

  18. Open Office, and then open User Templates.

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

  20. Start Word, and then 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, go to the next step.

Step 6: Create a new user account

Sometimes, user-specific information can become corrupted. This can interfere with installing or using the application. To determine whether this is the case, you can log on as a different user or create a new user account, and then test the application.

If the issue occurs even when you use the alternative account, go to the next step.

Step 7: Test saving the file in safe mode

Word

Try to save when the computer is operating in safe mode. If you can save while in safe mode, the problem probably concerns software that is running in the background.

For information about how to enter safe mode in Mac OS, seeClean startup to see if background programs are interfering with Office for Mac.

More information

If the steps in this article did not resolve the issue, visit the Mac forums for possible resolutions/workarounds.

Although Macs are extremely proficient computers, they sometimes experience freeze ups. This can be unfortunate when you’re in the middle of something important — a work project, or a FaceTime conversation. Modern RAM-intensive applications can easily put earlier Mac models into a coma. What should users do when an app or the macOS itself stops responding to any actions? Why can OS X freeze up all of a sudden? Read on to find out the typical reasons causing this malfunction and ways to solve the problem fast!

Discover the reasons for Mac freezes and macOS glitches and next, learn what to do when something like this happens to your computer.

Uninstall Microsoft Word On Mac

  1. Unnecessary apps launched at startup.

Microsoft Word Frozen On Mac Unsaved Document

Certain applications sneak into Mac’s login items and launch on macOS startup without you knowing. If something goes wrong, apps like this can freeze up in the background and slow down your Mac. Check the startup items and remove the unwanted programs launched on startup.

2. Multiple background processes.

A Mac app may be running several processes at once, and some of them can freeze up. Depending on your Mac’s RAM capacity, there can be too many processes hindering its overall performance. Check the Activity Monitor to see the list of app-related or system processes running in the background and the memory consumption.

3. Cluttered hard drive.

The chances are huge, your Mac’s hard drive needs serious maintenance and decluttering. Use macOS Optimized Storage toolkit to reclaim the disk space and restore system capacity. Alternatively, use third-party Mac cleaning application to find and delete trash, system junk, temporary files, and unused apps.

If your Mac freezes at login and you have no idea about what’s causing it, use a Safe Boot mode. It allows checking the functionality activated during startup and performing its diagnostics. To launch Safe Boot, turn off your Mac, then start it up holding down the Shift key.

If you wish to get feedback on how the process is going, restart the computer holding down the Shift and Command-V key combination. While the Mac is entering the Safe Boot, it’s Verbose Mode, will display messages about the Safe Boot troubleshooting stages. If your Mac successfully starts up with a Safe Boot the issue is fixed, so you can restart it normally.

If the problem persists, your Mac may be stuck in boot loops. Another reason for this to occur is a serious hardware-related issue demanding a more in-depth diagnostics.

If your MacBook Pro or Air is frozen, hold down Command + Control + Power keys to force-reboot your Mac. If you own one of the earlier MacBook models, use the same key combination, but press the Media Eject button instead of the Power key. Note: the force-reboot scenario will inevitably lead to data loss. The ‘hard restart’ can corrupt the files you were working on. Try recovering what is left and create a new file to save the important data. Actually, the same force-reboot scenario works for iMac or Mac mini as well.

My Mac is frozen, and I can’t click anything” is a typical plea for help one can come across on Apple community forums. Most often it is related to the issue when Mac’s screen freezes and a user can’t even move the cursor around the desktop as a touchpad, mouse or a keyboard do not react. Also, the “spinning beach ball of death” may be present on the screen. It usually appears when your Mac’s hardware fails to handle the currently executed software task.

Other reasons are:

Complex tasks overloading the CPU

Memory-intensive apps

Lack of free space on Mac's startup disk

To understand what is causing the “beach ball,” a user needs to monitor the CPU usage, check the RAM consumption in Activity Monitor, and run hardware diagnostics. As you see, the spinning cursor is a symptom of a malfunction that needs close attention before your Mac fails.

A specific app can freeze up making your Mac partly or totally unresponsive. Here’s how to close a frozen program:

  1. Try switching to another macOS area by clicking on the desktop or another app window. Alternatively, use the Command-Tab key combination to switch to another program.
  2. Locate the app icon in the Dock, then Control-click the icon.
  3. Hold down the Option key (Quit will change to Force Quit on the menu).
  4. Click Force Quit.

If force-quitting the app didn’t work, here’s another way to abort a frozen program. Hold down Command-Option-Esc to access the Force Quit Applications window. Next, select a frozen app from the list, and click Force Quit.

On older Macs, upgrading to OS X El Capitan on top of Yosemite led to system slow down and freezing. Upgrading to macOS Sierra or High Sierra from earlier versions would cause similar issues. This is why a clean macOS installation is always preferable to prevent issues down the road. Apple users wait months before installing the latest software updates to make sure they will run a stable OS version.

To fix the freezing issue caused by an OS/software upgrade, do the following:

• If you upgraded the software, use a Time Machine backup to revert to the previous state;

• If you upgraded to the latest OS version, try downgrading to the previous version, or install the new one from scratch

Mac’s slow work or freeze-ups can be caused by an array of reasons. Use the ‘isolate & identify’ way of thinking to check all possible causes. Running the latest OS and software version compatible with your Mac’s hardware will help you avoid serious performance issues. Keeping your Apple computer clean and healthy will guarantee its steady work for years to come.