How to Fix Slow Microsoft Office

Latest versions of Microsoft Office have introduced a long list of features and improvements meant to enhance the user's experience and work performance. However, these new features might take a toll on the performance of older systems – some users report that Microsoft Office is being slow, and that the app appears to be lagging when they are typing. If you are also experiencing slow Microsoft Office issues, then we have some tips on how to try and restore this software suite's good performance.

Fix Microsoft Word Templates

Microsoft Word uses a file called 'normal.dot' to save data about templates, settings, and other preferences. If this file gets too big or corrupted, it may have a negative impact on Microsoft Word's overall performance. Thankfully, there is an easy way to refresh it – simply delete the original while Microsoft Word is turned off and then restart the application.

On Mac, you need to use Finder to search for normal.dot and then delete the files. On Windows, it is stored under the directory C:\Users\<USERNAME>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates. Go there, delete the file Normal.dot or Normal.dotm and start Microsoft Word to rebuild the file.

 

Delete Temporary Files

If you have saved all data from Microsoft Office applications, then you can safely find and remove temporary files. To do this, you can use either Mac's Finder or the Windows Search feature to find - ~*.doc, ~*.dot, ~*.pptx, ~*.xlsx. These files will have names identical to your projects, but they will have the ~ prefix.

Apply Microsoft Office Updates

Another simple fix that could help is making sure that you are running the latest version of Microsoft Office.

Reinstall Microsoft Office

If the fixes above fail, then it might be time to reinstall the software suite completely. Start by following our guide on How to Uninstall Microsoft Office, and then install a fresh copy for Mac or Windows.

June 22, 2021
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