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

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.

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
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.

Was this answer helpful?

1 person found this answer helpful.
0 comments

43 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2014-12-01T07:44:22+00:00

    One of the myriad causes of this error can be that the logged-in user lacks read/write/execute permissions to the folder above the folder containing the document.  This is unlikely to be the case on a standalone machine, but can be troublesome on a network server.

    Another cause is the Unix File System: a documented limitation of Word 2011 is that it cannot run under Unix File System.

    The cause is a deadlock.  The question is "what's causing the deadlock?"

    Hope this helps

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2014-12-01T01:45:32+00:00

    Sorry to say that none of these solutions work. The problem happens if nothing else is running, on a freshly rebooted machine. That's a cold reboot. 

    Nor does increasing the file limit to 16500 work. I have pretty much given up on Word for Mac. I will use Open Office, Libre Office, or Office 2013 under Parallels. Word 2011 for Mac was crippled from the outset, and just keeps getting worse.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2014-04-02T05:47:49+00:00

    We only deny things when you are wrong.

    You are wrong!!

    I went to your link.  More than a hundred of those articles I WROTE.  They are not about this error.  One of those articles is about Windows for Workgroups (Windows 3.11). Forgive me for my suspicion that you won't be using THAT on a Mac.  Any Mac...

    Another of those articles is about Word for DOS.  Again, it won't be running on your Mac.

    If you read what I wrote (You can read, can you?  I'll type a little slower until you catch up...) you would have learned that this error message is generated by an "Error Bucket" that has a large number of causes, about half of which are not in Microsoft code.

    The operating system has responded to a request for a file handle with "Unable".  It doesn't say why. The cause may not be Word.

    If you read what I wrote, and do what I recommend, you won't get the error. If you don't, you will.

    https://www.google.com/#q=word+office+too+many+files+open+mac

    Attaboy… Kill the messenger, old news…

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2014-04-02T01:32:15+00:00

    We only deny things when you are wrong.

    You are wrong!!

    I went to your link.  More than a hundred of those articles I WROTE.  They are not about this error.  One of those articles is about Windows for Workgroups (Windows 3.11). Forgive me for my suspicion that you won't be using THAT on a Mac.  Any Mac...

    Another of those articles is about Word for DOS.  Again, it won't be running on your Mac.

    If you read what I wrote (You can read, can you?  I'll type a little slower until you catch up...) you would have learned that this error message is generated by an "Error Bucket" that has a large number of causes, about half of which are not in Microsoft code.

    The operating system has responded to a request for a file handle with "Unable".  It doesn't say why. The cause may not be Word.

    If you read what I wrote, and do what I recommend, you won't get the error. If you don't, you will.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments