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Hello,
I cannot open downloaded Word documents (powerpoint included) that I download onto my computer from email or my online class. This happened after I downloaded Windows 10. My spyware is turned off and it does not change anything. Any tips if there is something else turned on I can't figure out to open them? I tried going through word and in a "repair" view but it still wouldn't open.
Thanks!
A family of Microsoft word processing software products for creating web, email, and print documents.
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Try repairing Office from Control Panel, in case this is a problem with file associations.
It's any file I've downloaded - whether I'm the author or anybody else. They're on my desktop and I have to manually unlock them or right-click and select "edit" to see it. If I don't, I'm met with this error (picture). Of course there's nothing wrong with my RAM or disc space. And there's nothing wrong with the file; as I say it's a constant thing. Every. Time. And as I said, I can always open them if I manually choose "edit". 
What are the exact symptoms that you see? Are you trying to open an e-mail attachment?
By default, many files, such as e-mail attachments, open in Read Mode and that mode does not allow editing in Word 2013 or 2016. At File | Options | General, clear the option to "Open e-mail attachments and other uneditable files in reading view."
This is a known issue with Protected view after upgrading to Windows 10, according to the Office team. A bug fix will be released.
What you can do, in the meantime, is download the file, right-click its icon, choose Properties from the context menu, and Unblock the file. Note that you should only Unblock files that you know are safe to open.
And why is it STILL like this?
In addition to Doug's suggestion, you may find it helpful to clear the option to "Open e-mail attachments and other uneditable files in reading view" at File | Options | General.