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How can I open old Microsoft Word files that will not open now that I have installed Catalina on my Mac?

I recently installed Catalina on my iMac, which blocks my Microsoft Word documents from opening. What can I do to open them?



iMac 21.5″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Dec 15, 2020 12:30 PM

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Posted on Dec 15, 2020 12:34 PM

Catalina shouldn't block Word documents from opening. I use Word and Excel every day on Catalina.


I suspect the problem is that you don't have an up-to-date version of Word. You need at least Word 2016. If you don't want to buy a new standalone version of Word and/or don't want to subscribe to Office 365, you can try something like LibreOffice.


https://www.libreoffice.org

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Dec 15, 2020 12:34 PM in response to KSHhub123

Catalina shouldn't block Word documents from opening. I use Word and Excel every day on Catalina.


I suspect the problem is that you don't have an up-to-date version of Word. You need at least Word 2016. If you don't want to buy a new standalone version of Word and/or don't want to subscribe to Office 365, you can try something like LibreOffice.


https://www.libreoffice.org

Dec 15, 2020 12:53 PM in response to KSHhub123

I have to presume you mean your old versions of Office won't run (Office 2011 or older). Catalina requires all apps to be 64 bit. Office 2011 and older are 32 bit.


The documents themselves aren't affected, just the old apps. If you require genuine Office for your usage, you can purchase Office 365 (subscription), or the one-time cost Office 2019.

Dec 15, 2020 1:32 PM in response to VikingOSX

VikingOSX wrote:

There is a reaon for that … 😎 and I am not being critical of you either.

Ha! I don't hate Pages the way some people do. My word processing needs are rarely complex enough that I exceed its capabilities. But, I'm just not used to it so it takes me forever to do anything. And, I get Microsoft 365 through work so, why not?

How can I open old Microsoft Word files that will not open now that I have installed Catalina on my Mac?

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