The Microsoft Clip Gallery immediately exits in Office for Mac application

When you try to start the Microsoft Clip Gallery utility in a Microsoft Office for Mac application, after Clip Gallery starts, it immediately exits. You may receive an error message that states that Clip Gallery cannot open a database.

This issue occurs in the following three scenarios:

• Scenario 1: The volume name for the drive where Office for Mac is installed is 28 characters or longer or contains a non-alphanumeric character.
• Scenario 2: The operating system is Mac OSX 10.5, and the hard drive is formatted as "Mac OS Extended (Case-Sensitive, Journaled)."
• Scenario 3: There are issues with the user-specific files that the Clip Gallery references.

Scenario 1

To work around this issue, shorten the volume name to 27 characters or fewer, and use only alphanumeric characters.

To change the name, follow these steps:

1. On the Mac desktop, select the icon for the hard drive that you want to rename.
2. On the File menu, click Get Info.
3. Under Name and Extension in the Name box, type the new volume name.
4. Close the Get Info window. If this is the primary hard disk drive, you will be prompted to sign in by using an administrator account or a user account that has administrator permissions.

Scenario 2

To determine the format of the Mac Operating System, follow these steps:

1. On the Mac desktop, select the drive icon that you want to investigate.
2. On the File menu, click Get Info.
3. Under General in the Format section, view the format that is listed.
4. If the format is listed as "Mac OS Extended (Case-Sensitive, Journaled)," you will have to reformat the hard disk drive and use the recommended format, which is "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)."
   
   For help, contact Apple support.

Scenario 3

To investigate further, follow these steps to rebuild the Preferences file for the Clip Gallery:

1. Click the hard disk.
2. Click Users.
3. Click the folder for your user name.
4. Open Library.
   Note The Library folder is hidden in MAC OS X Lion. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.
5. Click Preferences.
6. Drag com.microsoft.ClipGallery.plist to the trash.

Try to use Microsoft Word and the Clip Gallery. If you experience problems, follow these steps to rebuild the Clipart folder:

1. Click the hard drive.
2. Click Users.
3. Click on the folder with the house icon next to your user name.
4. Open Library.
   Note The Library folder is hidden in MAC OS X Lion. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.
5. Click Application Support.
6. Click Microsoft Folder.
7. Click Office.
8. Drag the Clipart folder to the trash.
9. Restart the computer.

Try Microsoft Word and the Clip Gallery. If you experience problems, review the steps for the previous scenarios.