Okay, what the hell is wrong with Word now?

Cafe Society
1

Bizarre behavior in Word today. I can open any .docx that originated on my computer; I can open any .docx that was emailed to me in 2021 or earlier. Emailed documents 2022 and after give the following error:

Microsoft Word
Word experienced an error trying to open the file.
Try these suggestions.
Check the file permissions for the document or drive.

  • Make sure there is sufficient free memory and disk space.
  • Open the file with the Text Recovery converter.
    (~$ssertation%20project%20proposal.docx)

So: apparently I will never be able to read an emailed Word doc ever again.

2

Doesn’t Windows often block files from the internet?

Make sure its unblocked.

3

No, it’s files from 2022 onward that I’ve opened with no trouble before.

4

Can you see if you can go to the store and download the latest version of Word?

If you have a Microsoft account, see if you can also login to the web version in Office 365, and open the file.

5

Going to the store was an absolute disaster. I now have had $169.00 deducted from my bank account for a product that claimed to be Office Home 2024, but when I go to install it it says 365. I DO NOT WANT 365 ETA: it also wants to autoinstall Co-Pilot

6

Sorry about that, as mentioned it was for 365, but if you did not install it, ask for a return from the bank.

In the meantime install the free libreoffice, it should open the latest word documents.

7

Okay, my brother was able to get the purchase canceled and refunded (five business days), so that’s done at least.

8

Look at the properties of the .docx file by right-clicking and selecting Properties or using Alt+Enter while you have the file selected.

At the bottom of the General tab (should be the one Properties opens to by default) you should see Security (not to be confused with the Security tab which does something entirely different). There should be a dialog here that says “This file came from another computer and might be blocked to help protect this computer.” If the checkbox next to this is checked, uncheck it and click OK.

Your file should open normally now.

You can find options in Word’s Trust Center to manage Protected View and File Block settings. Fun to note that in the File Block options, if “open” is selected, Word will block that type of file.

9

Okay, this is weird. Some of the files have that option to unblock or block, and others don’t. I took a file which I could open and specifically checked “unblock” even though that one wasn’t giving me a problem; now I can access files I couldn’t yesterday.

I’ll chalk it up to stray cosmic rays.

10

ETA: or more likely some goddamn side effect of a Windows update. Anyway, MUCH thanks @DWMarch!

11

Glad I could help! Yes, I think Microsoft sometimes changes default behavior in the background without notifying the user.