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
    2015-08-19T12:48:37+00:00

    This is temporary, believe me.

    Anyways, Repair permissions doesn't existe anymore since El Capitan.

    Type "Memory error Office Mac" and you'll ge 1 290 000 hits in 0, 51 secs.

    Only here and in Redmond they never heard of it.

    Microsoft = Kremlin.

    https://www.google.fr/?gws\_rd=ssl#q=office+for+mac+not+enough+memory+error![](https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/115eb925-4927-4b09-9c84-46e25487b32b?platform=QnA)

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-08-19T12:44:12+00:00

    This bloody bug is not related to any iteration of OSX.

    It exists on ALL my Macs since 1998, El Capitan included, on Macbooks 2014 ans iMac 2015.

    Abysmal Micro$oft.

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-08-19T12:33:33+00:00

    This worked for me. Thanks! :)

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  4. 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

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