Word cannot complete the operation because too many files open

Anonymous
2011-08-08T18:05:14+00:00

I've upgraded to Lion and am now having this error message every time Word 2011 tries to auto save:

word cannot complete the operation because too many files open

I click OK and then it says:

Word is unable to save the AutoRecover file in the location you have specified. Make sure that you have specified a valid location for AutoRecover files in Preferences, and that you have permission to write files to the location you specified.

I've tried changing the location for autosave and also made sure that the folder has read/write privileges for all users. I've done some Googling and not been able to find any other references to this problem since 2004ish.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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Anonymous
2017-06-19T13:34:35+00:00

You should have added "for me" because that solution did work for at least 18 other users.

So let's try this, which I'm surprised we did not suggest before. It's called a safe boot. It's a simple procedure that will attempt to load in your Mac only software, add-ins, fonts, etc. etc. that are official versions of Apple software and other approved vendors. If Word works, it probably means that some software is interfering with it (i.e. software that was not allowed to execute under safe boot conditions).

  • Shut down you Mac
  • Turn it on
  • As soon as you hear the initial "boing" sound, press Shift (that's Apple's instructions; I press is as soon as I see the screen turn on)
  • Hold it down until you see the Finder and it seems to stop loading

Once the Finder loads, test Word. If it works, the problem is caused by non-Apple software added to your user account or your Mac.

There is a similar procedure involving the creation of a brand new user. This ensures the user does not have any additional stuff in their account. You could try that and then test word from that new user.

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  1. Anonymous
    2011-08-09T15:33:29+00:00

    Run Apple's Disk Utility application to Repair Disk Permissions. Restart your Mac and check if it helps.

    Follow the steps below to Repair Permissions:

    1. Open Disk Utility in your Applications/Utility folder.
    2. Click on the First Aid tab and select Repair Permissions
    3. Click on the icon for your boot volume.
    4. Click the repair permissions button.

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-12-01T02:02:45+00:00

    Try this:

    • Quit Word
    • Press the Shift key
    • Open Word
    • Release the Shift key after you see a blank document
    • Test Word's behavior

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  3. Anonymous
    2011-09-29T14:52:42+00:00

    I have been dealing with this issue as well.  All of the above ERROR messages.  "Too many windows open" etc etc.     Also the AutoRecover asks me to make sure a proper location is set.    

    This happens in longer documents - 300 pages or so.    At times the Auto Save does not catch changes made.     I recently lost two hours of edits.

    Disk Utility may be help, but when it happens again  a day later, something is not right.

    I haven't upgraded to Lion and am using Office 08

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  4. Anonymous
    2011-08-10T14:56:52+00:00

    Repairing the permissions seems to have solved the problem. Thanks!

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