macros disappearing - Word 2019 for Mac

Anonymous
2019-08-21T18:34:26+00:00

When I create macros in the 2019 version of Word for Mac as a way of opening frequently used files, the macros work immediately after I create them, but then anywhere from a few minutes to a day later I get the following error message: "Sorry, we can't find your file.  Was it moved renamed or deleted."  I didn't have this problem with the previous version of Word for Mac or any of the earlier versions of Word I used from back to about the late 1980s, tho those were for Windows-based PCs.

Does anyone have any idea what's causing this problem and how to fix it?

FYI, I'm creating the macros the way I always did, clicking on Tools, then Macros, then Record Macro, then entering in the Keyboard Shortcut box the keys I want to use, then opening the file I want to create access to, then going back to Tools and clicking Macros and End Recording.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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  1. Jim G 134.1K Reputation points MVP
    2019-08-23T15:44:42+00:00

    Hi

    You can revert to 16.27 by restoring Microsoft Word.app from Time Machine. Before doing so, go to the Help menu in Word and choose Check for Updates and set AutoUpdate to manual so that it doesn't put 16.28 right back after you revert to 16.27.

    You might consider going newer instead of older. You can get version 16.29 if you join the Office Insider program and choose the Insider Fast track. Insider Fast builds get the fixes being tested first.

    Office Insiders

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  2. Anonymous
    2019-08-24T12:26:37+00:00

    Thanks for the courtesy of your update.

    FYI when I had this problem with Word in the 2019 Home and Student Version of Office Suite last October I was able to connect with Microsoft tech support and they told me that they'd work on it.  A few days after that my computer began shutting down with no reason, and after working with Apple on it for several days, I mentioned that I had recently installed a Word update that wasn't functioning properly and wondered whether that could have anything to do with the shutdowns.  

    In response Apple helped me partition my hard drive so that I had, in effect a new hard drive without Word on it.  With the new compartment I had no shutdowns, but then when I called Microsoft to tell them what had happened, I was asked to install the Office Suite on the new compartment to see whether it was in fact the source of the shutdowns.  When I did, I began getting shutdowns again and removed Office Suite from the new compartment.  Removing the app didn't solve the problem.  I had to engage, with Apple's help, in a laborious process of going into Library and removing all Office Suite files which were scattered among various folders in Library.  I mention this in case it bears some relationship to the macros problem, i.e. in case creating macros activates code that shuts the computer down.  Whether that's possible, I have no idea.  I don't know much about computer technology, but I assume this isn't a problem that just occurs by downloading Office Suite, since if it did, Microsoft would probably know about it at this point, but if it only occurs after you create macros and you experience shutdowns now, I thought you ought to know about it.  

    As you may have noticed on this conversation yesterday, I got a reply from a volunteer named Jim Gordon, suggesting I go back to Word 16.27 in Time Machine.  I doubt that I have it in Time Machine.  The only version I have was the one I downloaded last Friday, August 16, which I assume was the latest version.  If it wasn't, then presumably it was 16.27.  I can't check it because I cancelled my purchase when I encountered the macros problem with my new version, and I didn't want to risk the shutdown problem.

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  3. Anonymous
    2019-08-24T12:39:45+00:00

    Thanks for your suggestion, but the only version of Word I have in Time  Machine is the one I purchased from Microsoft 8 days ago.  I suspect that that's 16.28, but I don't have any way of checking that, since I cancelled my purchase.  In any case I had the same problem with a version of Word I purchased last October.  Since the problem has persisted for over 10 months, it seems unlikely that 16.29 is going to be any better, and, as you can see in the messages in this thread, a Microsoft Agent is working on the problem.

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  4. Jim G 134.1K Reputation points MVP
    2019-08-24T14:21:55+00:00

    Hi

    You can download certain older versions of office from this website:

    Update history for Office for Mac | Microsoft Docs

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  5. Anonymous
    2019-08-24T15:56:12+00:00

    It would be nice to have a version that works properly while I'm waiting for Microsoft to solve the problem with the 2019 version, which they haven't solved in the ten months since I initially reported it.  I have the impression that they're really on the case this time, but installing an earlier version raises a number of questions,  How can I know which version doesn't have the macros problem?  Unloading earlier versions, starting with the most recent, to discover which one doesn't have the macros problem, could be time-consuming.  It also involves a risk of computer shutdowns which I suffered from with the 2019 version I downloaded last October.  The problem stopped when I removed the app, but that too was time-consuming, as I couldn't just uninstall the app but had go into Library and remove numerous files from various folders before the shutdowns stopped.

    Then too I have a 2010 version on my MacBook which still functions but is no longer supported.  I think the last version prior to 2019 was 2016,  If that version works properly and I install it will it be supported?

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