Word and Excel stuck in Read and Print mode only
I have M365 Family Plan and one of my devices can't use Word or Excel. App tells me they are in Read and Print mode only. I have attempted multiple times to get support to resolve this via chat sessions, but they are unable to help. They have escalated this to Tier 3 Support and still no help. They recommended I go here for support. Here are some of the details. Case Number: 7108165505 (current one) Microsoft 365 Family subscription Word and Excel opening in Read Only / Print mode on one Windows 11 desktop Error when accessing the subscription management page Previous escalation to Tier 2 and Tier 3 Case marked as Resolved despite the issue remaining unresolved Note that extensive troubleshooting has already been completed and that you believe the issue may be related to subscription validation or account provisioning rather than the local Office installation.
OneDrive files opened from Finder not recognized as cloud files on Mac
Office for Mac: OneDrive files opened from Finder no longer recognized as cloud files – AutoSave disabled Hi everyone, I am experiencing a persistent issue with Microsoft 365 for Mac and OneDrive that started suddenly around August 10, 2026. The same setup and workflow had worked without problems for more than two years before that. Problem My Office files are stored in OneDrive and synchronized to my Mac via the standard macOS File Provider. When I open an Excel or Word file by double-clicking it in Finder, the Office application opens the file, but it apparently does not recognize it correctly as a OneDrive/cloud file. For example: AutoSave is disabled real-time co-authoring does not work as expected when I try to enable AutoSave manually, Office behaves as if the file were local and asks me to upload/save it to OneDrive – even though the file is already stored and synchronized in OneDrive However, if I open the exact same file from within Excel or Word via the OneDrive/Online Locations option, everything works correctly: AutoSave is enabled immediately co-authoring works changes made by another user appear in real time This behavior is reproducible with multiple files and affects both Excel and Word, so it does not appear to be an issue with one particular workbook or application. Environment MacBook Air M2 current macOS version current Microsoft 365 version current OneDrive version OneDrive Personal files synchronized through the standard macOS File Provider I have also tested opening files directly from: ~/Library/CloudStorage/OneDrive/... The result is the same: when opened from Finder, Office does not appear to recognize the file correctly as a cloud file and AutoSave remains disabled. Troubleshooting already performed I have already: completely reset and reconfigured OneDrive allowed OneDrive to fully resynchronize verified the files and folders in OneDrive on the web confirmed that OneDrive reports everything as synchronized restarted Finder and macOS removed and recreated Finder shortcuts/favorites tested without Finder favorites or aliases tested directly from ~/Library/CloudStorage/OneDrive updated macOS updated all Microsoft 365 applications updated OneDrive None of these steps changed the behavior. Key diagnostic result The following comparison is consistently reproducible: Finder → OneDrive file → double-click → Excel/Word → AutoSave OFF → file appears not to be recognized as an active OneDrive cloud document → co-authoring does not work correctly Excel/Word → Open → OneDrive/Online Locations → same file → AutoSave ON immediately → cloud functionality works → co-authoring works correctly This suggests that OneDrive synchronization itself is functioning correctly. The issue seems specifically related to the handoff between macOS Finder / Apple File Provider / OneDrive and Microsoft 365 for Mac when a OneDrive file is opened from Finder. Important detail This is not a workflow that has never worked on macOS. For more than two years, we routinely opened our synchronized OneDrive Word and Excel files directly from Finder. Office recognized them as cloud files, AutoSave was available, and collaborative editing worked normally. The behavior changed suddenly around August 10, 2026, without us intentionally changing the OneDrive folder structure or our workflow. Question Has anyone else encountered this recently? In particular: Is this a known regression in Microsoft 365 for Mac, OneDrive for Mac, or their integration with Apple's File Provider? Why would Office recognize a file as a OneDrive cloud document when opened through the application's Online Locations, but not when the exact same synchronized file is opened from Finder? Is there a way to reset or repair the Microsoft 365/OneDrive cloud-file recognition or File Provider integration without resetting the entire OneDrive again? Are there any relevant logs, caches or diagnostics that could show why Office considers a Finder-opened OneDrive file to be local? Opening every document through the Office application's Online Locations is a possible workaround, but it is not a practical long-term solution when working with a larger shared folder structure in Finder. I have already contacted both Apple Support and Microsoft Support. Apple referred me to Microsoft, and Microsoft Support subsequently recommended that I raise the issue here in the Tech Community. Any insight from Microsoft staff, MVPs or others familiar with Microsoft 365 for Mac, OneDrive and the macOS File Provider would be greatly appreciated.
Turning off email notifications about new comments in one certain file
Hi All! I found a solution to turn off all email notifications on new comments in my shared files (through settings on SharePoint), but it doesn't really solve my problem. In project files I work on with my colleagues, email notifications are helpful for monitoring workflows and streamline the process. At the same time, I'm an owner of yearly excel files shared with a big team in order to monitor the work on all clients and automate the visualization of it, but it gets commented on a lot and I don't need to get all of that on my Outlook. Is there any way to turn off email notifications about new comments for just one file without turning them off on all my shared files? Kind regards, Jakub Banasik
Microsoft Word - Footnote remains on the original page after moving the original reference up
Issue I encountered an issue in Microsoft Word where moving the original footnote reference to an earlier location in the document did not move the footnote itself. The footnote remained on its original page even though the reference had been moved. This was particularly problematic because the same footnote was referenced multiple times throughout the document using cross-references. Cause The footnote is anchored to the original footnote reference in the main text. In my case, Word had somehow lost track of that original anchor, so the footnote stayed on its original page while all cross-references continued to point to it. Solution Hold Ctrl and click the misplaced footnote reference. Word jumps to the original footnote reference in the main text. Cut the original footnote reference (Ctrl+X). Paste it in the correct location using Keep Source Formatting. Press Ctrl+A, then F9 to update all fields. Verify that: the footnote has moved to the correct page, the numbering has updated correctly, all cross-references still work. In my document, one footnote had previously lost its connection to the original reference, so its numbering did not update automatically. That one had to be repaired manually. Important Do not create a new footnote or copy the footnote text itself. Move the original footnote reference in the main text. This preserves the existing footnote, its numbering, and every cross-reference that points to it. I hope this helps someone else. It took me quite a while to figure out what was happening.
Word/PowerPoint are not suitable replacements for Publisher
I’m writing following the guidance that Word and PowerPoint can be used as replacements for Publisher. This feedback is based on completing a real production document, not theoretical use Having just completed a fairly complex, layout-heavy technical document, I thought it only fair to share how that works in practice. In theory, I can see the logic: Word handles documents PowerPoint handles layouts Therefore, between the two, everything should be covered Unfortunately, in reality, this appears to be more of a theoretical exercise than a practical solution. Publisher was clearly designed for: Fixed, page-based layouts Precise positioning of objects Efficient alignment of mixed content (text, images, tables) Producing consistent, professional multi-page documents By comparison: Word is admirably committed to reminding you that it would prefer everything to flow freely, regardless of whether you want it to or not PowerPoint, while better behaved, does seem to assume every page is a standalone slide rather than part of a structured document Both tools can, with enough persistence, be persuaded into doing the job. However, this involves a level of manual intervention, workaround, and general negotiation with the software that feels somewhat at odds with modern productivity software. To put it simply: They are not replacements in any meaningful, real-world sense. The end result can be achieved, but the process is unnecessarily time-consuming, fragile, and prone to unexpected layout changes—particularly when precision actually matters. Replacing a purpose-built publishing tool with two applications that were never designed for that role gives the impression that this use case has been… optimistically simplified. I would strongly encourage Microsoft to either: Provide a genuine page-layout solution within the Office suite, or Enhance existing applications so they can support fixed-layout publishing without constant workarounds At present, the gap left by Publisher is very noticeable for anyone producing structured documents beyond basic text. I appreciate the direction of Microsoft 365 overall, but in this particular area, the experience feels less like an evolution and more like working around a missing tool. Regards Andy
Cannot install addins
I am a Microsoft 365 Personal user. When I try to add the Claude for Excel Addin (for the Desktop version of Excel), I get an error: "Error loading add-ins. One or more add-ins failed to load. See your add-ins.". However, this is not specific to the Claude addin, since every addin gives the same error. When I click on the My-Addins option and then "refresh", I get another error: "Access denied to catalog." Signing in and out of Office does not fix the issue. Clearing the Office 365 cache did not fix the problem. The issue extends to Powerpoint and Word as well. I cannot add any addins to the web versions of Office either. Interestingly, if I download an XML manifest file, I can use the "Manage my addins" option in the web versions of Office 365 to manually add the addins. But still no luck with the Desktop versions. Anyone have any thoughts on how to fix this? Do I need to manually reinstall Office 365? I also noticed that the "Get Add-ins" button in "Account" settings is disabled.Word for iPad cannot edit documents marked as “Recommended Reading” in Windows
I have a Word document created in Windows that was saved with the “Recommended Reading” option. When I open it in Word for iPad, the file is locked in reading mode and there is no option to switch to editing mode. Word Online can edit the document without any issues, so it seems that the limitation affects only the Word app for iPad. This appears to be a recent limitation, since the document could be edited without any issues a couple of months ago. Is this a known limitation in Word for iPad? Is there any way to remove this flag from the iPad or force editing mode without having to return to Windows? Thank you.Cant start microsoft word
Hello, I am having problems with microsoft word. When I open the software then it says word couldnt start last time. Safe mode could help you troubleshoot the problem, but some features might not be available in this mode. Do you want to start in safe mode? I tried to press both buttons but after that I only get the starting icon of word and then nothing happens. I tried to reinstall microsoft 365 and I tried to repair it but it did not help. I also tried the changing temple the normal.dotm file but it did not help. Now i deleted the file and I dont have it anymore. I also tried a few things on the registry side where you made changes to the word registy but like removing addins and options and adding the shellchanching thing to registery but it did not help. I tried to do some system scan on cmd and it did some repairs but in the end it did not help. Is there anything else that I can try. I feel like I have tried everything possible way that I have found on internet. Is my only option to just reinstall my windows and then start from beginning. Will reinstalling windows even work? I need word for my work and I cant realy wait for too long. I am using windows 11 and I am pretty sure my word version is 16. I also tried to use some other microsoft softwares and excel has the same problem. It first did open but after few seconds it closed and then I got the same message. Microsoft acces seems to work fine. Everything else works in my computer. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/word/how-to-troubleshoot-problems-that-occur-when-you-start-or-use-word I did try these methods and it did not work. Any help?
