Word Experienced an Error Trying to Open the File

The full message reads: "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."

The suggestions are generic. In practice, three causes cover most cases:

• The file came from the internet or an email. Windows marks downloaded files, and Word sometimes refuses a marked file instead of opening it in Protected View. This is the most common cause when the file came as an attachment.
• A Word setting blocks the file. Protected View or File Block settings can stop a file type from opening.
• The file is damaged. A download, save or sync that stopped early, or a program that wrote the .docx badly, leaves a file Word can't read.

A quick way to tell them apart: if the same file opens on another computer or in another app, the file is fine and the problem is on your computer. If it fails everywhere, the file is damaged.

The message also asks you to check the file permissions. If the file is on a network drive, a USB stick or in a synced folder, copy it to your Documents folder and open the copy. If the copy opens, the drive or the folder permissions were the problem.

Windows adds a hidden mark to files that come from a browser download or an email attachment. Remove it like this:

1. Save the attachment to your computer, if you haven't yet.
2. In File Explorer, right-click the file and select Properties.
3. On the General tab, select the Unblock checkbox, then select OK.
4. Open the file in Word again.

If there is no Unblock checkbox, the file has no mark and this isn't the cause. Move on to the next chapter.

Only unblock files from people and sites you trust. The mark exists to protect you from harmful attachments.

If unblocking didn't help, test whether a security setting is in the way. Menu names can differ a little between Word versions.

Protected View

1. In Word, select File, then Options.
2. Select Trust Center, then Trust Center Settings, then Protected View.
3. Clear Enable Protected View for files originating from the Internet and Enable Protected View for Outlook attachments, then select OK.
4. Open the file again.

If the file opens, save a copy with File, then Save As, and turn both settings back on. Protected View is what keeps a harmful file from running anything on your computer.

File Block

In the same Trust Center Settings window, open File Block Settings. If the Word document types are ticked under Open, Word refuses to open them. Clear the tick for the type you need, or ask your IT team if the settings are locked.

On a work computer, your organization may manage these settings. If they are grayed out, contact your IT team.

Work on a copy of the file. Menu names can differ a little between Word versions.

Open and Repair

1. In Word, select File, then Open, and browse to the document.
2. Click the document once to select it. Don't double-click.
3. Select the arrow on the Open button, then select Open and Repair.
4. If the document opens, save it under a new name.

Recover Text from Any File

The message itself suggests this converter. It gets the words back, but formatting, pictures and fields are lost.

1. In Word, select File, then Open.
2. In the file type box, select Recover Text from Any File(*.*).
3. Select the document, then select Open.
4. Delete the stray characters at the start and end, then save it as a new Word document.

If neither works, the damage is in the file's structure. Use the repair tool at the top of this page, which rebuilds the structure and keeps the formatting it can.

Word for Mac shows the same message, and the Windows file mark doesn't apply on a Mac. That makes a damaged file the most likely cause.

1. Drop the file into the repair tool at the top of this page. It runs in your browser, and the file stays on your Mac.
2. If the diagnosis lists problems, download the repaired copy and open it in Word.
3. If it finds no damage, restart Word and try again, or open the file in Pages or another word processor and save a fresh copy as a Word document.

The repair tool above answers the first question this error raises: is the file damaged, or is Word the problem?

• "No damage found": the file's structure is sound. Look at the unblock and Protected View chapters, or try the file on another computer.
• "What we found": the file is damaged. The tool rebuilds a broken file index, mends broken XML, rebuilds the content type list and the links between parts, and lists every change. Download the repaired copy and open it.
• A different file type: some files named .docx are really PDFs, plain text, old .doc files or password-protected documents. The tool reads the first bytes and tells you which, so you know which app to use.

The file is never uploaded. The check and the repair run in your browser.