When you try to start PowerPoint for Mac, you may receive the following error message: Microsoft PowerPoint has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.

Summary

You may encounter 'Microsoft Word has encountered a problem and needs to close' problem on your Windows PC or Mac when there is something wrong with user account profile, application conflict, Word crashes, etc. When the issue occurs, you can fix it through a few ways here. And a professional Word file recovery tool is recommended to restore deleted or lost Word document.

'Microsoft word has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.'

The full error messages 'Microsoft Word has encountered a problem and needs to close' may occur when you open a document in Word 2003/2007/2010/2013/2016. When you see this on Windows PC or Mac, it suggests that something serious has happened, and you're no longer able to open the Word file properly!

The causes of this problem may be:

• Word application crashes
• Corruption of user account profile
• Word compatibility
• Corruption of Word preferences

So, how to fix such a Microsoft error without losing Word contents? Here, solutions to 'Microsoft Word has encountered a problem and needs to close' problem on Windows and Mac are both covered, try the methods to resolve it and open Word without showing a blank page. Besides, in the end, get to know powerful Word file recovery software in case you need it to recover deleted or lost Word document.

Read also how to fix Microsoft Word has stopped working.

Fix Microsoft Word Has Encountered a Problem and Needs to Close in Windows 10/8/7

There are 2 options available for users choose to proceed, which is 'Send Error Report' or 'Don't send'. Actually, neither options are effective in resolving the problem. Click either of the options, you'll be brought to safe mode. Sometimes entering into safe mode would revive Word, but most of the time it doesn't solve the problem. In this part, we will show you the step-by-step guide to completely remove the error and lets you open the Word document without shutdown.

• Open Windows Explorer > click 'Program Files' > 'Microsoft office' >'Office'.
• Find and right-click 'Winword.exe' > choose 'Properties'.
• Click 'Compatibility' and press to clear all the check boxes and at last hit upon 'OK'.

Also Read a file error has occurred while saving Word.

Fix Microsoft Word Has Encountered a Problem and Needs to Close on Mac

You may see this error when start Microsoft Word for Mac 2011 or 2008. Altogether, you have 3 ways to rectify the problem and prevent Word closing.

Run Repair Disk Permissions

The 'Repair Disk Permissions' is available in 10.2 or later versions on Mac. You can use it to figure out reasons for the “Microsoft Word has encountered a problem and needs to close” on Mac error and fix it.

On the Go menu, please click 'Utilities' > 'Disk Utility' > choose the primary hard drive for your Mac > click 'First Aid' > 'Repair Disk Permissions'.

Once the scan is over, open Word again and check is the error occurs. If this method doesn't work, move to the next one.

Reset Word for Mac preferences

As said before, corrupted Word preferences are one of the main reasons for 'Word has encountered a problem'. So you can troubleshoot by resetting Word preferences.

• Click 'Go' > 'Home' > 'Library'. (Click 'GO' > hold down the 'Option' key on keyboard > click 'Library' for OS X 10.7 or above versions)
• Open the 'Preferences' folder and drag 'com.microsoft.Word.plist' to the desktop. If you can't find the file, in the Preferences look up for Microsoft folder, and drag com.microsoft.Word.prefs.plist to the desktop.
• Now If you have Service Pack 2 installed, open 'Application Support' > 'Microsoft' > 'Microsoft'. Then, you can open a Word and check whether the error appears or not.

Or, try another alternative method.

• Click 'Go' > 'Home' > 'Library'.
• Open the 'Application Support' folder > 'Microsoft folder' > 'Office folder' > 'User Templates' folder.
• Find the Normal.dotm file in the 'User Templates' folder, and drag it to the desktop.

Create a new user account

If the problem is caused by a corrupted user account, you can try to create a new user account to fix the issue.

• In 'System Preferences', click 'Accounts'.
• Click the Plus sign [ + ] in the lower left corner to open the new account window- Enter the word Test for the username and leave the password box blank. Click the 'Create Account' button. When you receive a warning, click 'OK'.

Good luck if the at least one method works, otherwise you got no choice but to remove or reinstall Office for Mac.

Bonus Tip: How to Recover Deleted/Lost Word Document on Windows and Mac

Word document loss happens from time to time due to accidental deletion, hard drive formatting, virus attack, application crashes, etc. It is a disaster to deleted a Word file that you have been working for a very long time. If you have this problem on a regular basis, don’t worry anymore, now, you have EaseUS data recovery software to help you. With this tool, it will be quite easy for you to recover the lost document, photos, audios, videos, email, and other 200+ files from HDD, SSD, USB flash drive, Pen drive, CF/SD card, etc on Windows and Mac computer.

EaseUS Data Recovery is famous for its powerful capability for hard drive formatting recovery, RAW partition recovery, lost partition recovery, virus attack recovery, recycle bin emptied data recovery, and so on. Now, follow the tutorial below to recover Word document within three steps.

Step 1. Choose the Word file location.

Do you know where you lost Word files? Choose the hard disk drive or a specific folder and click the San button. If it's on a USB flash drive or SD card, take one more step to connect it to your computer.

Step 2. Scan all lost data.

The software will start immediately scanning all lost data on the selected drive, and you'll see more and more data showing up in the scan results. After the scan, use the quickest way to the wanted Word documents by choosing 'Documents' from the drop-down list in 'Filter'.

Step 3. Select Word files and recover.

You're allowed to preview a Word file if you have Microsoft Word application installed on your computer. Finally, select the desired documents and click 'Recover'.

Microsoft Word Encountered A Problem And Needs To Close Mac Computer

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 try to start Microsoft Excel for Mac, you receive the following error message:

Microsoft Excel has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.

Cause

This error may occur if one of the following conditions is true:

• The Excel preferences are corrupted.
• Programs that are running in the background are interfering with Excel for Mac.
• Application files are corrupted.
• A user account profile is corrupted.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, try the following methods, in order, until the issue is resolved.

Method 1

Step 1: Quit all programs

You must quit all programs before you continue. To quit an application, select the application on the toolbar (top), and then select Quit. If you cannot quit an application or do not know how, hold down the Command and Option keys, and then press Esc on your keyboard. Select the application in the 'Force Quit Application' window, and then select Force Quit. Click Force Quit to quit the application.

When you are finished, click the red button in the upper-left corner and go to step 2.

Step 2: Remove your Excel preferences

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. Drag com.microsoft.Excel.plist to the desktop. If you cannot locate the file, Excel is using the default preferences. Go to step 7.

6. Open Excel, and check whether the problem still occurs. If the problem still occurs, quit Excel, restore the file to its original location, and go to the next step. If the problem is resolved, drag com.microsoft.Excel.plist to the Trash.

7. Quit all Office for Mac applications.

8. On the Go menu, click Home.

9. 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.

10. Open Preferences.

11. Open Microsoft, and then drag com.microsoft.Excel.prefs.plist to the desktop. If you cannot locate the file, Excel is using the default preferences. Go to step 13.

12. Open Excel, and check whether the problem still occurs. If the problem still occurs, quit Excel, restore the file to its original location, and go to Method 2. If the problem is resolved, drag com.microsoft.Excel,prefs.plist to the Trash.

Method 2

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:

1. On the Go menu, click Utilities.
2. Start the Disk Utility program.
3. Click the primary hard disk drive for your computer.
4. Click the First Aid tab.
5. 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.

Open Excel and check if the issue is resolved. If it is not, continue to Method 3.

Method 3

Create and use a new user account

To create a new user account, use the following procedure.

Note

You many have to reinstall Office if you log on with a new account.

1. Click the Apple icon, and then click System Preferences.

2. Click Accounts.

3. Click the plus sign ('+') in the lower-left corner to open the new account window.

   Note

   If you are not the Administrator of the computer, click Click the lock to make changes. Log on by using your Administrator user name and password, and then click OK.

4. Type the word Test for the user name, and leave the password box blank. Click Create Account. When you receive a warning, click OK.

5. Click to select Allow User to Administer this computer. (If this option is not available, just go to the next step).

6. Click the Apple icon, and then click Log Out name.

7. Log on with your Test account.

Open Excel and check if the issue is resolved. If you can save when you use a new user account, contact Apple support to troubleshoot your existing account. If you do not want to keep your existing account, you can rename the 'Test' account that you create in the following procedure, and continue to use that account. If it is not, continue to Method 4.

Method 4

Microsoft Word Encountered A Problem And Needs To Close Mac Program

Remove and then reinstall Office

For information about how to remove and then reinstall Office, see the following article:

Third-party disclaimer information

Microsoft Word Encountered A Problem And Needs To Close Mac Pro

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.

Microsoft Word Encountered A Problem And Needs To Close Machine

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.