"Word experienced an error trying to open the file"

Anonymous
2011-02-26T16:39:36+00:00

Since installing Office 2010, I am unable to open any Office files (Word, Excel, etc.) that have been either e-mailed to me or transfered on a flash drive.  The following error message appears; "Word experienced an error trying to open the file".  Any ideas on how I can open these?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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Anonymous
2011-05-08T08:44:15+00:00

To get round this – right click on the file and select properties.

Next click unblock.

Because you noted the file came from an outside source, this is the new procedure, Please indicate this was helpful if it solved your problem. The indicated answer on this page appears to only be another question.

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Anonymous
2011-08-16T17:29:02+00:00

Suzanne,

I don't know if the following will be helpful to you, but maybe you could give me advice. I would like to know if what I did could be problematic for a computer in my office.   I experienced a similar problem as did "Goonerbu".  Here were the actual error messages. Different messages for different files.

Excel error - "The file is corrupt and cannot be opened" error on office 2010 Excel while opening .xls files

Word error - 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

When I checked the Trust Center Settings as recommended above the file Excel2007 workbook was not check. The only items that were checked were the following.

  • Excel 4 Workbooks
  • Excel 4 Worksheets
  • Excel 3 Worksheets
  • Excel 2 Worksheets
  • Excel 4 Macrosheets and Add-in Files
  • Excel 3 Macrosheets and Add-in Files
  • Excel 2 Macrosheets and Add-in Files

HERE IS WHAT I DID TO RESOLVE.

  • Click file>options
  • Click Trust Center>Trust Center Settings
  • Click Protected View
  • Uncheck the following boxes
  • Enable Protected View for Files originating from the Internet
  • Enable Protected View for Files located in potentially unsafe locations
  • Enable Protected View for Outlook attachments

Is there any problem with what I did to resolve it?

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Suzanne S Barnhill 279.4K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
2011-08-09T03:49:53+00:00

Go to File | Options | Trust Center and click Trust Center Settings...  Select File Block Settings and clear the check boxes for the file types you want not to be blocked.

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  1. Anonymous
    2017-09-21T19:53:38+00:00

    To get round this – right click on the file and select properties.

    Next click unblock.

    Because you noted the file came from an outside source, this is the new procedure, Please indicate this was helpful if it solved your problem. The indicated answer on this page appears to only be another question.

    This worked for me - incidentally the file was downloaded from the internet......,

    I was just wondering why I can open the same file can be opened on a Windows 7 without unblocking.  But, it cannot be opened on a Windows 2008 Server.

    But, it solved the problem.  Thanks.

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  2. Suzanne S Barnhill 279.4K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2011-08-16T21:46:06+00:00

    I'm going to step back and let someone with more expertise field this one, as I wouldn't want to give you a bum steer, but I do think it probably depends a lot on what sorts of files you normally receive or open. If you are likely to be receiving attachments from people you know and trust, you probably don't need Protected View for attachments, but who knows? You can always click Enable Editing after opening such a file.

    As for "Files originating from the Internet," given that this could be any random file posted at a website by some kook, there is certainly more theoretical risk. I'm not sure what "Files located in potentially unsafe locations" actually means. What I do suspect is that if you have an AV app worth its salt, it will protect you from any macro viruses that might be lurking in such files.

    I should add that, given that the problem seems to be with Excel files, you might be better advised to post your question in the Excel forum.

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