Word 16.31 turning server files invisible

Anonymous
2019-11-20T17:12:10+00:00

Microsoft Word 16.31 for macOS seems to be turning server files invisible.

This has been observed in mulitple locations with multiple Macs (macOS 10.13.16 and 10.14.6) saving to macOS Server 10.12.

The file's UNIX chflags bit is turned to "hidden" and to make it visible we have to find the file using "ls -la" and then "sudo chflags nohidden file/path.docx?" to fix the file and make it visible again.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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Anonymous
2019-11-24T15:20:28+00:00

With help from Adam Berti or Berti Group we have found that this script can fix a folder or share's invisible word documents:

find basedir/ -name '*.docx' -exec chflags nohidden {} ;

Where "basedir/" is the full path to a server share (including the trailing slash)

Adding -print will list what is happening.

find basedir/ -name '*.docx' -exec chflags nohidden {} ; -print

But it would be far more helpful if Microsoft would just fix Word 16.31 !

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  1. Anonymous
    2020-07-09T17:34:30+00:00

    This is an ongoing and widespread problem. I am dealing and have been dealing with this for many months now. It has been fully described by multiple people. Can one of the highly paid geniuses at Microsoft fix this already?!

    I am not tech savvy so I don't know how to run a script, etc. And it really should not be my job to fix a Microsoft issue, should it? Come on people. Please.

    OS Mojave 10.14.6

    Microsoft Word 16.37

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  2. Anonymous
    2019-11-21T09:29:22+00:00

    Hi Anarvey,

    Sorry for the inconvenience it may have caused you.

    To troubleshoot this issue, firstly, I would like to suggest starting your Mac in Safe Mode and open Word from there to isolate issues, then check if the issue persists. Because when starting your operating system by using a normal startup, several applications and services start automatically and then run in the background. These programs include basic system processes, antivirus software, system utilities, and other software. These applications and services can sometimes cause interference when you run Office for Mac. You can refer to this article for more details.

    Besides, we’d like to collect some information to further check the scenario:

    1. Is this a problem with all Word documents? Or some specific documents?
    2. When did this problem occur? For example, after upgrading Office to 16.31.
    3. Are other Office applications such as Excel and PowerPoint affected?

    Best regards,

    Madoc

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  3. Anonymous
    2019-11-20T18:10:12+00:00

    Happening saving to macOS Server 10.13.

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