How to troubleshoot problems that occur when you open a file in Word for Mac, in Excel for Mac, and in PowerPoint for Mac (892961)

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If a file suddenly stops responding, you must have a method to troubleshoot the issue. This article describes some of the issues that you may experience if a file suddenly stops responding when you try to open it in an Office for Mac program, and it gives you a method to troubleshoot the issue to try to resolve it. Follow each method in the order that they are presented until the issue is resolved.

Note Before you start troubleshooting any file, make a duplicate of this file. To do this, click to select the file, and then click Duplicate on the File menu. It is a good idea to put this duplicate file in a different folder so that you will not accidentally throw the file away or start working with it partway through the process.

If you are finding that many of your files stop responding unexpectedly when you try to open them, the first thing that you should do is to make sure that you are working with the most current version of both your operating system and your Office for Mac programs. Many times the updates will address this issue. You can find these updates by visiting the following Web sites:

AppleCare support Web site:
Microsoft Mactopia download Web site:

You cannot open a file by double-clicking the Document icon

If you have been trying to open your file by double-clicking the Document icon, you may experience one of the following problems:

• A different program tries to open the Office for Mac file.
• The Office for Mac program does not start when you try to open a file, and then it stops responding.

A different program tries to open the Office for Mac file

If a program other than an Office for Mac program tries to open a file, follow these steps:

1. Click to select the Office for Mac file, and then click Get Info on the File menu.
2. Click the Open with tab.
3. Click Other from the list of programs.
4. Locate the Office for Mac program that owns the document type, and then click Add.
5. Click Change All, and then click Continue.

The Office for Mac program does not start when you try to open a file, and then it stops responding

If the Office for Mac program does not start, and then it stops responding, you must determine whether the problem is with the file or in the Mac OS X operating system. To do this, try to open the Office for Mac file from within the program that owns the file type. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Start the Office for Mac program.
2. Click Open on the File menu, and then locate the file.
3. Select your file, and then click Open.

If you can open the file in this manner, the issue may be related to your operating system. You should install a clean version of the Mac OS X only if the other troubleshooting steps cannot resolve the issue.

This is only one example of a situation that might require a reinstall of the operating system. You may notice when that you open an Office for Mac program, you may receive an error that a carbon file or a framework file is required and missing. Additionally, you may notice that other programs are experiencing problems.

Before you install a clean copy of Mac OS X, use the Remove Office utility to remove Office for Mac from your computer. Additionally, remove any preferences from the Library/Preferences folder in your Home folder that pertain to Office for Mac. This includes the Microsoft Office folder and the Microsoft preferences folder.

For more information about how to remove Office for Mac from your computer, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

If you need help with installing a clean copy of Mac OS X, contact Apple. You can contact Apple support at 1-800-275-2273, or you can visit the following Apple Care support Web site for more information:

Insert the document into another document

If you cannot open your file by double-clicking the Document icon or by opening it from within the program that owns the file, try to insert the file into another document. To do this, follow these steps depending on the program that owns the file that you are trying to open:

• Microsoft Word for Mac:
  1. Create a new document in Word for Mac.
  2. On the Insert menu, click File.
  3. Locate the document that you have been trying to open.
  4. Click Insert.
• Microsoft PowerPoint for Mac:
  1. Create a new PowerPoint for Mac presentation.
  2. On the Insert menu, click Slides from File.
  3. Locate the slide show that you have been trying to open.
  4. Make your selection to either Insert all slides or Select slides to insert.
  5. Click Insert.
• Microsoft Excel for Mac:
  1. Create a new Excel Workbook.
  2. On the Insert menu, click Object.
  3. Click From File.
  4. Locate the workbook that you have been trying to start.
  5. Click OK.

Recover text from any file

When you are working with problematic Word for Mac files, if and the following steps have not resolved your issue, you can try to open the file by recovering text from any file. This file does not have to be a Word for Mac file.

For more information about how to view the steps to recover text from any file, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Troubleshoot fonts

For more information about troubleshooting fonts, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

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