microsoft office won't open downloaded files Double-clicking an Office file fails to open it in the correct Office program. When you try to open an Excel workbook, a Word document or a PowerPoint presentation with Excel, Word, or PowerPoint, the following errors may occur: The file doesn’t open in the expected application. For instance, an Excel workbook doesn’t open in Excel 2019; instead, it opens in another app or an older version of Excel. An error indicating a file association problem may occur. For instance, you may get an error similar to “ This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. please install a program or if one is already installed create an associate in the default programs control panel " “ This action is only valid for products that are currently installed ” Note: If you've tried to open an Excel workbook but instead Excel only opens a blank screen see: Excel 2016 opens to a blank screen. Run a Quick Repair to fix the file association problem. Click the Start button. Note: If you're using Windows 7, just click Start > Control Panel then you can skip to step 3, below. Type and choose "Control Panel" Choose Programs > Programs and Features . Next, select the Office product you want to repair and then choose Change . Choose the Quick Repair option and then choose Repair . For more information about the repair option in Office, go to Repair an Office application. If that doesn't resolve the issue try manually associating the files to the correct app. Click the Start button. Note: If you're using Windows 7, just click Start > Control Panel then you can skip to step 3, below. Type and choose "Control Panel" Click Default Programs (if you don't see Default Programs, type it into the search box at the top right corner of the window and press enter) Choose Set your default programs. Select the Office app that isn't opening correctly and choose Set this program as default. Tip: You may want to repeat this process for the other Office apps while you're here. If you have multiple versions of Microsoft Office. Consider uninstalling the versions you don't need. To do that: Click the Start button. Note: If you're using Windows 7, just click Start > Control Panel then you can skip to step 3, below. Type and choose "Control Panel" Choose Uninstall a Program and select the version of Office you want to remove. Click Uninstall . Restart your computer. Having too many versions of Office on your computer can cause issues, including files opening in the wrong version of Office. Tip: In some cases you'll get your best result by uninstalling ALL versions of Office, then reinstalling just the version you want. If all else fails.. You should still be able to open your file by opening the application first, then opening the file from there. To do that: Start the program needed to access your document; Word, Excel or PowerPoint. When the program opens, click File > Open , find your file in the file navigator and open it. Still have a question about Office? Visit the Microsoft Answers Community to see questions and answers posted by others or get answers to your own questions. We're listening! This article was last updated by Ben on May 9th, 2019 in response to your feedback. If you found it helpful, and especially if you didn't, please use the feedback controls below and leave us some constructive feedback so we can continue to make it better. Fix problems opening documents in SharePoint libraries. If you run into issues opening Office files and documents from SharePoint document libraries, here are some suggestions to help you fix them. We recommend that you sync your document library with your computer to work with documents. Syncing creates a local folder on your computer where you can open and edit files easily. When you save a document, it's automatically uploaded to the SharePoint or OneDrive for work or school. For more information, see Sync SharePoint files with your computer. If the issue happens with Open with Explorer or View in File Explorer, see Open in Explorer or View with File Explorer. Download and check files locally. Some problems occur because of differences in versions of SharePoint server and Office. If you can't get it to work, try downloading the file and seeing if you can open it locally. Depending on the version of SharePoint, do one of the following: In SharePoint, select the file, and click Download on the command bar, or click the ellipses ( . ) and then click Download . In SharePoint Server 2016, select a file, click More on the command bar, and click Download , or right-click the document, and then click Download . For SharePoint Server 2013, select a file, click the ellipse ( . ) click the ellipse (. ) again in the dialog, and then click Download . ForSharePoint Server 2010, click the down arrow on a file, click Send to , and then click Download a copy . In your browser, click Save , and then Open folder to open the folder where the file is located. Right-click the file in the desktop folder, and then click Open With . Choose the app you want to use. If the file hasn't been assigned, it will pop up a dialog to select one. If the app isn't on the list, click Choose another app . Check the Always use this app to open box. Close the app and try double clicking the file to see if it opens the correct app. To find the version of SharePoint you're using, see Which version of SharePoint am I using?. Note: If you upgraded from an earlier version of Office to Office 2013 or Office 2016 on your computer, you might still have older versions of some programs like Visio and Project. If you use these programs, update them to 2013 or 2016. If you no longer use them, uninstall them. File corruption. If the file opened previously, but now doesn't, there could be a problem with a corrupt file, or the format is not compatible with any of your apps. Make sure when you save a file, you try to open it to make sure it was saved correctly. If you're sharing a file with other users, be sure they save files completely and using the same file format. For example, if a spreadsheet is opened as a .xls, make sure it's saved as an .xls file. Corrupt files can also prevent SharePoint from opening. If you suspect a corrupt file, download the document and try one of the methods outlined in these topics: File formats not supported. Newer versions of Office add new features that may not be available with older versions of Office. New versions can read documents created by older version, but older versions can't read newer documents. For example, Excel 2016 saves files in an .xlsx format, while Excel 2003 only reads .xls format. When sharing files in SharePoint, be sure your users have compatible versions of Office for documents. If you're using Microsoft 365, you can install the latest version to your desktop from the online link. Error: Can't read file, or Presentation cannot be opened. If you've arrived at this article because you got an error message that PowerPoint can't read a file or that the presentation cannot be opened, it's likely that Office has blocked the file for security reasons. You can unblock the file so it can be opened: Open Windows File Explorer (Open Start in Windows and type File Explorer .) Locate the problematic file on your computer. Right-click the file and select Properties . In the Properties dialog box, look for an Unblock button near the bottom right. If it exists, click Unblock , then click Apply , and then click OK to dismiss the dialog box. Now, attempt to open the presentation again. Right-click the file in File Explorer and select Open . Still having trouble? If you're having a problem with PowerPoint that's not resolved here, please contact us for technical support. For a discussion about why Office blocks files, read Block or unblock external content in Office documents. [Fixed] Office 365/2016/2013 Won't Open with 'Stopped Working' Error in Windows 10. Office 365, 2016, 2013 Won't Open in Windows 10 with 'Stopped Working' Error Message. According to Microsoft community and Google searching result, it seems that it's not a new problem for Windows users that Offices won't open after Windows 10 update with an 'Office stopped working' error message. If Microsoft Office 365, 2016 or 2013 has stopped working or cannot open normally, you may not be able to work or modify Word document or edit Excel files by then. So how to fix this issue and make Office work again in Windows 10/8/7? If you are having a similar problem with Office Word, Excel, PPT or other files on your PC and you cannot open Office to work, don't worry and you can just follow offered methods here below in this article to get the problem fixed on your own now. Method 1. Fix Office 'Stopped Working' Error in Windows 10 with an Online Repair Tool. When Microsoft Office 365, 2016 or 2013 stops working or won't open on your PC, you can directly try an Office repair to get the problem fixed in Windows 10/8/7: 1. Click "Start" > "Control Panel" > Select "Programs" > "Programs and Features"; 2.