MacWDX: Error Message When You Open Word: The Application Microsoft Word Has Unexpectedly Quit

When you start Microsoft Word X for Mac and create a new blank document from the Project Gallery or from an installed Word template, you receive the following error message: You also receive this error message if you turn off the Project Gallery and open a blank document immediately after you open Word.

This behavior can be caused by a damaged template. The template may be the Normal template or a template that you chose from the Project Gallery. The template may be so severely damaged that Word cannot process it or even attempt to repair it when you start Word.

This behavior also can be caused by a damaged font or a conflict with the Toast Titanium Preview. For additional information about how to troubleshoot these issues, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

To troubleshoot this issue, follow these steps in the order that they are presented.

Damaged Normal Template

To determine whether the problem is caused by a damaged Normal template, first perform a clean boot of Word. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Select the Word icon, press SHIFT, and then, on the File menu, click Open. Word starts while bypassing all but the default settings.
2. Try to create a new blank document from the Project Gallery.

If Word quits while you are creating a blank document, follow these steps:

1. Open the Microsoft Office X folder, and then open the Template folder.
2. Find the Normal template file, which should be located in the root of the Template folder.
3. After you find the Normal template file, place it in the Trash.
4. Start Word. Word automatically re-creates the Normal template from internal settings.

NOTE: When you delete your Normal template, the following are deleted:

• All AutoText entries
• AutoCorrect entries that use formatting
• Any customized macros, customized toolbars, and user-defined styles

Plain text AutoCorrect entries are still available.

Damaged Word Template

If Word quits when you are using a Word-specific template, such as those under Business Forms or Home Essentials, replace the suspect template with a fresh copy from the Office v. X CD-ROM. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open the Microsoft Office X folder, and then open the Template folder.
2. Find the folder that contains the suspect template.
3. Place the suspect template in the Trash.
4. Insert the Microsoft Office v. X CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive or DVD-ROM drive, and then find the original copy of the template. It should be located in the same location as it was on the hard disk.
5. Drag a copy of the template into the Template folder where the suspect template was located.
6. Start Word, and then use the new copy of the template.

If the template is a custom template that you created, you must place the template in the Trash and re-create the template.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.