Why does MS Word 14.2.3 run so slow on MacBook Pro and brand new iMac?

If you log in as another user, does it run ok?

How about if you boot into Safe Mode? http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1455

You might try looking/posting here:

Microsoft Support – Office for Mac

I've had no problems with it. If it works as poorly in Safe mode as it does normally, then I would say there is something wrong with your installation of Word.

Have you tried uninstalling Office and reinstalling?

Word is up to version 14.3.1. Try updating and see if that helps. The newest version may be more ML friendly. I certainly have no complaints about the speed of MS Word.

p.s. Just checked for updates - there is now a 14.3.2 version.

I missed the version number. I guess the similarity with the current version was enough to tell my brain it was correct.

OK- I'm in the process of installing 14.3.2. I'll let you know if it is slow.

Just out of curiosity, when you were "clearing junk" did you clear font caches? Could make a difference.

Wod 14.3.2 is speedy enough for me on 2008 Mac Pro.

Another possibility might be some other process which is slowing down Word.

With Word running, Launch Activity Monitor (from Utilities), and then check CPU and System memory see if any processes seem to be using a surprisingly high percentage.

Finally, how about free space on your hard drive? Got plenty? It's best to have at least 15% free, at minimum.

Suggest you follow the link posted by Eric Root (above). There is quite a debate there about this very topic. I searched for "Word 2011 slow" just to see what was there. You may find some useful ideas.

I'm using the word version 15.29, but still very slow response.

Try looking/posting here.

Microsoft Support – Office for Mac

Microsoft Support – Office for Mac (2)