Office 2013 can't open Word docs in My Documents folder

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
A

Adam Ripka

Honorable
Sep 25, 2013
4
0
10,510
So just recently I have been unable to open or save Word documents in the "My Documents" folder. I haven't made any changes that should have caused this. There may have been a windows update but I'm not really sure.

The odd thing is that I can open Excel, Powerpoint, etc. without a problem.

I also added another folder to the "Documents" library to see if it was the library but it isn't.

I have checked all the permissions and the owner and they are as they should be. If I copy a word document to another folder outside of "My Documents" it works fine.

Any help is appreciated even if it's something I already tried.

Thanks!
 
Solution
T


Okay, same problem. Really annoying.

I went to word 2013, then file then options. Then clicked on trust center. Then trust...
Sort by date Sort by votes
A

Adam Ripka

Honorable
Sep 25, 2013
4
0
10,510


Thanks for the response but I can't even open existing word docs from "My Documents"

I get a "Word cannot open the document: user does not have access privileges" error message.

But this is not the case. There is only one user on the computer and I am the administrator and the owner of the document. I checked all the permissions on the folder and "Everyone" has full access to the folder. It just doesn't make sense. But it's Windows, so why should it make sense :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
T

Tom Manacapilli

Honorable
Oct 16, 2013
1
0
10,520


Okay, same problem. Really annoying.

I went to word 2013, then file then options. Then clicked on trust center. Then trust center settings button.

Then I went to file block settings and unclicked everything but word 2, and selected third radio button "open selected file types in protected view and allow editing"

Then I was able to open all the documents I couldn't open, but should have been able to open. I also have 2010 and thought that there might be some interference between the two. Who knows. Why should 2013 not be able to open something 2010 does? Didn't make sense. I have the same problem with excel 2013. I will have to see if it is similar.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
A

Adam Ripka

Honorable
Sep 25, 2013
4
0
10,510


Hi Tom,

That sounded promising but no luck. I even rebooted to see if it would kick in but I still am unable to open or save any Word 2013 document in the My Documents folder. No trouble with any other program or folder.

Thanks,
Adam
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
A

Adam Ripka

Honorable
Sep 25, 2013
4
0
10,510
Tom, I had done this previously and it didn't work. I haven't even tried opening any Word docs from that directory lately. Anyway, I just realized my wife had been working in Word recently and lo and behold she is working out of that directory. So I'm not sure exactly what happened to "fix" the problem, but I'm able to open them again. Thanks again to everyone for your suggestions.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
P

phineasboggs

Honorable
Mar 26, 2013
2
0
10,510
Thanks Mattdim805. I can't figure why I have to reset my computer to be permitted to look at MyDocuments or even the locked Recycle Bin. I don't understand MS's reasoning here. Grr.

However, with your input, I went to my C: drive and gave myself permission to see my files and hopefully, my cookies. I'll keep following through.

There needs to be a quick solution to being able to access (or lock if I want to) our own files, instead of having to ask permission. Growl.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
R

RevJLS

Reputable
Sep 20, 2014
1
0
4,510
When I try to open My Documents, it tells me that the library is no longer working and can be removed. I reinstalled Office 2013 and it did not correct the problem. I, too, can't even open existing word docs from "My Documents" because it says the library no longer works and can be deleted.

I think Microsoft has a problem.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
H

honglil

Reputable
Nov 24, 2014
1
0
4,510
I got the same problem on Windows 8.1 and got access to my file the following way:

1. Right click on the file and select "Properties"
2. Go to Security Tab, click on "Advanced"
3. In the dialog box that pops up, click "Change" (it's on the same line as "Owner")
4. In the dialog box that pops up, type in "Administrators" under "Enter the object name to select". Then click "OK", then "Apply" and close the dialog box

5. Right click on the file AGAIN and select Properties
6. Go to Security Tab, click on "Advanced"
7. In the dialog box that pops up, click "Continue" under the "Permissions" tab
8. In the next dialog box, click "Add" under the "Permissions" tab
9. Click "Select a principal" and type in "Administrators". Click "OK"
9. Tick all the boxes under: "Basic permissions". Click "OK", then "Apply". Done!

I have no idea how that worked. I just stumbled upon it. Anyway I hope my solution helps.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
M

makakam

Reputable
Feb 21, 2015
1
0
4,510
I started out with MattDim's sollution, but I was working with Word 1997-2003 files and the Properties dialog boxes were different. So my fix worked as follows:.


1. Right click the file and open Properties.

2. Go to Security tab and click on Advanced.

3. This will open to an "Advanced Security Settings" page. Press "continue"

4. You will now see Permission entries. At the bottom of the page you will see a button to "Disable Inheritance". Choose this.

5. You will now have a choice to convert or remove prior permissions. I found removing easier, so choose remove.

6. A new page will appear allowing you to add permissions. Click "Add"

7. At the top of the page that appears will be "Select a Principal". Click this.

8. A new box will open ("Select User or Group") with a blank area titled "Enter the Object Name to Select". This is where you will enter either "Administrator" or the name you used as "Administrator". In most 8.1 setups this will likely be your email that you used on set-up. I would try the email address first.

9. It will come back to a screen showing the name you entered as the "Principal" with the boxes you need to check off for permissions. If unsure, check them all.

10. Click Ok, then next screen click OK, then next screen click OK, and you should have access.

What a miserable glitch for Microsoft to leave in their software. Hope a patch comes out soon..



 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom