I have not had the time to follow through all responses. But I created a temporary solution. If your symptoms match mine (see this post below and my last post), read this or go directly to the bottom to see the solution.
First, I have a screen cast in case the issue is still not clear:
Screen cast: https://www.loom.com/share/53f0e27f3fda4daa9446a370c16c80cb?sid=331d0033-478f-46b7-b35a-37f950c82589
More background on my case:
- Didn't make any changes to Word settings since the last install years ago.
- Only relevant changes recently were macOS updates and MS App updates
- For Sequoia (I have 15.1.1), there are many improved security permissions and other apps have been requesting Access Permissions in recent weeks. However, Word has not asked/promoted for additional permissions in my case.
My attempts for a solution:
- This time, I tested first whether the issue occurs on the local drive or other drives (external, network or cloud drives).
- I found that, for my case, it is isolated to external and network drives only. It works fine on local drives.
- This points to the fact that Word needs access permissions for the external drive/network drives - even though Word has not asked for it explicitly.
- Now, checking permissions
- Test 1 (Failed): Using "Get Info" on Finder and Terminal "ls -al /Volumes/MyDrive" command)
- Terminal shows the "./Volumes/MyDrive/.TemporaryItems/folders.501" folder (where temporary Word files are stored having "_unknown:_unknown" owners and low level access permissions. I am not sure if this is normal. No action taken as I do not want to change this without knowing first. I will investigate further.
- "Get Info" - shows nothing out of the ordinary. I reset to the same (Read-Write for the user and staff).
- Open Word, try to save: issue is not resolved.
- Close Word App
- Test 2 (Failed): Check macOS Settings for "Privacy and Security > File & Folders".
- Word is listed (for me) here.
- "External Drives" access turned ON - no other drives/folders are listed.
- I turn OFF and then turn it back ON.
- Open Word, try to save: issue is not resolved.
- Close Word App
- Test 3 (Succeeded): Check macOS Settings for "Privacy and Security > Full Disk Access".
- Word is NOT listed (for me) under this setting (I prefer this since the fewer apps have Full Disk Access the better for security).
- I add Word and give it Full Disk Access anyway.
- Open Word, try to save: issue is resolved.
To summarize - Word needs proper access permissions for non-local drives and it is not prompting the user for granting those permissions. Once Full Access is manually granted, it works. It is obvious that Word should request necessary permissions so the user does not have to do this, which open the possibility for misconfiguration. It is a Microsoft and Word problem - not Mac.
This resolution is not permanent since I do not want to give Word "Full Disk Access" if it is not necessary. Word should request the right permissions - not one chosen by the end users.
The Temporary Solution -
WARNING: this solution gives the Word app a high level of file access that I am not certain is necessary and makes me uneasy and hence, this solution in my mind, is a temporary one. So, I recommend that you continue your research and reaching out to MS Support and get a permanent solution.
Does your symptom match mine?
- Word documents on external and network drives do not save as expected.
- When saved, the title/name of the document shown in the title bar of the open Word window (not in Finder) - changes from its original name to a temporary file name (like .~WRDXXXX) - see screen cast above.
- Any additional changes made during the time when the temporary file name is shown in the title-bar are not saved to the original document - so all changes after this may be lost.
- At this point, if I try to close the Word App, it shows a prompt saying the file (.~WRDXXXX) was not saved and asks to save it again and opens the folder window.
- If I cancel, all changes made are lost. If I save to a new file or write over the original file, changes are saved to the selected file.
- Repeats if I make more changes.
Steps to Solution:
If your symptoms are similar/same, especially the first few bullets above, try the temporary solution below.
- Quit the Word App
- Open macOS System Preferences
- Click "Security & Privacy"
- Click "Full Disk Access" from the list of preference items on the right side.
- Click the plus (+) icon at the bottom of the System Preference window
- Navigate to "Applications > Microsoft Word" select it and click "Open" to add it to this list
- Make sure the checkbox is turned ON
- Now open Word again and try saving your changes.
- In my case, the issue is not repeated and document content is saved.
Hope this is helpful for some.
Thanks.
