Unable to save files in Word 2016 for Mac on OS X El Cap

Anonymous
2016-02-18T19:08:46+00:00

Hi folks,

I'm running into a situation affecting some but not all Macs at our office. We recently updated to Office 2016 (via Offiec365), and are running into problems with Word in particular. 

What's happening is that after opening or creating a new document and making changes, typing ⌘-S to save does not do anything, and the Save and Save As options are grayed out in the menu. Closing the window or quitting Word will trigger the "Do you want to save..." dialog, which then appears to allow you to save the document, but the document that is actually saved is completely blank. 

Has anyone encountered this also? It's affecting a couple of iMacs and a MacBook Pro, but some iMacs and laptops are not experiencing the same problem.

Thanks,

Tom

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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Anonymous
2017-02-13T23:50:13+00:00

I had this issue persistently last year but it seems fixed now with latest releases all round. I suggest running Microsoft Autoupdate, and doing manually every few days too. Also join the optional Office Insider program to get latest fixes.

My system:

Word for Mac 15.32 (170201)

MacBoook Pro (2016), 10.12.3

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-05-09T22:09:31+00:00

    Hello,

    I am sorry that you are still facing the issue after updating Word version to 15.22.

    I would request you to send us the following information to help you further on the issue:

    1. What is the OS X Version?
    2. Does the issue occur when creating and saving a new file or only when editing and trying to save an existing file?
    3. Are you a local user or a network user? If network, are you using network homes or portable home directories?
    4. Is there any folder redirection involved?
    5. Is there a .TemporyItems folder at the root of the shared folder? If so, what Permissions exist for those folders?
    6. What Permissions exist on the folder that you are attempting to save into?

    Send us the information requested above.

    Thank you.

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  2. Jim G 134.1K Reputation points MVP
    2016-05-08T13:48:42+00:00

    "Sandboxing" has been a costly mistake for Apple and Microsoft to foist onto Mac users. They haven't gotten it right despite many attempts to bang their heads against the wall. I think it's time they give up on this lunatic idea, at least for apps like Microsoft Office and the Adobe Creative Suite.

    Office 2011 is a fine product. Use 2011 instead of Office 2016.

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-05-08T03:09:44+00:00

    Have updated Word to version 15.22 and problem is STILL happening, remorselessly! Some acknowledgement of the problem and action to fix from Microsoft would be welcome . . . or I start looking seriously at dumping Office.

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-04-25T23:25:12+00:00

    Hi everyone,

    Can you try upgrading to build 15.21 or later, if you haven't already, and let us know if that does or does not resolve this? Update 15.21 was released on 4/4/2016, and we updated to 15.21.1 on 4/12/2016.

    For more information, see What's New and Improved in Office 2016 for Mac for Office 365.

    Best,

    -Erik

    Hi Erik

    Interestingly, the problem disappeared consistently with upgrade to 15.21.  However, it REAPPEARED and has been a persistent problem again after upgrade t 15.21.1.

    Very frustrating, but at least this should hopefully help identify the problem area?

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