Unable to edit Word 2016 documents [SIMPLE GUIDE]

Word is one of the most widely-used word processors in the world. But sometimes it can be frustrating to use, especially when you want to edit documents but find yourself unable to save them after a few edits. Here’s how Word 2016 makes changing your document easier than ever before! or

This article will teach you how to edit Word 2016 documents. The problem is that the Word document won’t open. If this happens, try these steps:

Ivan Jenic’s contribution

Expert in Troubleshooting

Ivan has dived deep into knowing this operating system, with a specialize in drivers and driver problems, thanks to his passion for all things Windows and his natural curiosity. When he isn’t tackling, he is… Continue reading

10th of December, 2021

Publish date: July 2020

Although Microsoft 365 is slowly becoming the king of Office suites, Microsoft Word 2016 is still widely used throughout the globe.
Deactivate Document Protection, fix the file, or disable add-ins if you are unable to edit documents.
Our Office 365 page has more thorough information on the product.
We also urge that you look at our suggestion in the Business Software area.

Is a vital.doc/.docx document corrupted? It can be fixed in under a minute. Don’t throw away any of your corrupted Word documents. When done, this utility will repair and recover severely corrupt or damaged.doc or.docx files and provide a detailed report. It will be used to:

Up to Word 2007, repair all corrupt.doc and.docx files.
Repair fonts, text, headers, footers, and any other elements in a Word document.
Recover your original material in its original form from the mended files.

Repair Word Documents

Repair.DOCX files that have been corrupted.

On Microsoft forums, several customers complained about not being able to update an existing Word document. Fortunately, this problem isn’t created by Microsoft’s development team, and it isn’t a flaw in Word 2016, thus we have a remedy that may be of assistance.

Many individuals are still using Office 2016, which was launched a few years ago. However, the Office version caused some troubles, as many customers complained about numerous issues once the software bundle was released.

Fortunately, the majority of the issues have been resolved, and using Office 2016 applications is no longer a chore.

What should I do if I am unable to edit documents created in Word 2016?

Contents: Table of Contents

Disable the Document Protection feature
Repair the Microsoft Word document.
Activate Office 2016 if it isn’t already.
Registry keys should be deleted
Add-ons should be disabled.
Office should be installed again.
Disable Hardware Acceleration if you don’t want to use it.
Install the latest Windows updates.
Updates for Office should be removed.

Disable Document Protection in Step 1

Follow these steps to do so:

Open the Word 2016 document that you’re having trouble with.
Navigate to the Developer tab. (If the Developer tab isn’t available, go to File>Options>Customize Ribbon> and pick Developer)
Go to Document Protection in the Protection category.
Click the Stop Protection button at the bottom of the panel.
Click OK after entering the document’s password.

If you can’t modify your Word document, it’s definitely password-protected. You’ll need to deactivate document protection and remove the password if you don’t want to input the password every time you open the document.

You should now be able to edit your Word 2016 document properly and without interruptions.

2. Make changes to the Word document

One of the reasons you can’t edit Word 2016 documents is because the file itself is corrupted.

Thankfully, there are still options for dealing with this. Use a third-party program called Stellar Repair for Word.

It will fix Word files in a secure manner. Any text, headers or footers, and pictures will be preserved. You may give it a.doc or a.docx file to work with.

We strongly suggest this program if you have any troubles with your papers and it is fully compatible with Microsoft Word 2016.

Once the file has been retrieved, you may access it in Word and make modifications before saving them.

Obtain Stellar Word Repair

3. Verify that Office 2016 is turned on.

The expired Office 2016 trial is one additional issue that might prohibit you from changing your Word 2016 document.

Microsoft provided a month-long trial of Office 2016, which drew a number of people who didn’t have an Office 365 subscription and downloaded the package without expecting it would expire.

And, for some reason, you’ll be able to use Office 2016 after the one-month free trial period has expired, but it will ultimately expire, rendering your Office 2016 applications unusable.

So, if you got the free trial, make sure you purchased an Office 365 subscription before using Office 2016, otherwise you won’t be able to use it.

If you don’t want to pay for Word, you may always download the ‘lite’ version of the program, called Word Mobile, from the Microsoft Store.

4. Remove Registry entries

If you’re still having trouble editing Word 2016 documents, we’ll attempt a registry hack. This is what you must do:

Open Registry Editor by going to Search and typing regedit.
Go along the following path:
- HKEY CURRENT USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice16.0Word
Simply select the Data key and remove it.
Your computer should be restarted.

This operation will remove the problem that prohibits you from modifying documents from Word 2016, as well as the bug that prevents you from editing documents.

5. Turn off add-ons

Add-ins are important in Office products, however a faulty add-in might create serious issues. So we’re going to turn off that pesky add-in and test how Word works without it.

However, since we can’t be certain which add-in is causing issues, we’ll have to deactivate them all at once. Here’s how you can do it:

Word 2016 is a free word processing program.
Select File > Options from the File menu.
Disable all add-ins by clicking Add-Ins.
Restart the software and make sure no add-ins are activated.

Now, one by one, install add-ins to see which ones are causing issues. If you’re still unable to edit documents after deleting add-ins, reinstall them and try a different approach.

6. Reinstall Microsoft Office

For years, reinstalling applications has been one of the most common techniques of troubleshooting. And we’ll enlist its assistance here as well.

Because Word is part of the Office Suite, you’ll need to reinstall the whole package. Although reinstalling everything might be a headache, it may be worthwhile in the end.

You may remove Office in the same way that you would any other software. The quickest and most straightforward method is to go to Control Panel > Programs and Features. Simply remove the whole suite, then reinstall it to check whether the issue has been rectified.

Follow the easy steps in this tutorial to totally uninstall Office from your Windows 10 PC.

7. Turn off the hardware acceleration.

Open any of the Office applications.
Select File > Options > Advanced from the File menu.
Disable Hardware Acceleration if it’s enabled.
Try starting Word 2016 again after that.

To improve performance, Word 2016 employs Hardware Acceleration. However, in rare circumstances, this option might make Word unusable. So, if none of the preceding alternatives worked, we’re going to turn off Hardware Acceleration in Word 2016.

If you are unable to stop Hardware Acceleration in this manner, we will return to the Registry Editor:

Open the Registry Editor program.
Navigate to this key in the left pane:
- HKEY CURRENT USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice16.0Common
Choose New > Key from the menu when you right-click the Common key.
Make a new key with the name Graphics.
Now pick New > DWORD (32-bit) Value from the right-click menu on the Graphics key. DisableHardwareAcceleration is the new value’s name.
Set the Value data for DisableHardwareAcceleration to 1 by double-clicking it. To save your changes, click OK.
Close Registry Editor and reopen it to see whether the issue has been addressed.

Note: Only use Registry if you’re sure you know what you’re doing. If you make a mistake in the Registry, you may face serious consequences. So, if you’re unsure, get advice from someone else.

8. Download and install Windows updates

Microsoft often distributes Office updates as part of its Windows Update service. So it’s possible you’re dealing with a Microsoft-addressed issue. If this is the case, Microsoft will issue a patch or repair through Windows Update.

Simply navigate to Settings > Updates & Security > Check for Updates to check for updates.

9. Remove Office updates

In contrast to the previous solution, a new update may be the source of the issue in the first place. In such situation, uninstalling the bothersome update is the best option. And here’s how you can do it:

To access the Settings app, go to the App Store and search for “Settings.”
To access Windows Update, go to Updates & Security > Windows Update.
Uninstall updates by going to Update history > Uninstall updates.
Now, locate the most recent Office update on your computer (you may sort updates by date), right-click it, and choose Uninstall from the menu that appears.
Your computer should be restarted.

Did you know that to prevent certain startup problems, Windows 10 uninstalls troublesome updates? For additional information, see this article.

That’s all there is to it. If you were unable to edit Word 2016 documents, we hope that at least one of these options was helpful. Please let us know if you have any comments, questions, or recommendations in the comments section below.

Was this page of assistance to you?

Thank you very much!

There are insufficient details It’s difficult to comprehend Other Speak with a Professional

Start a discussion.

Watch This Video-

The “How do I enable editing on a word document” is a question that has been asked by many people. The answer to this question is easy and can be found in the Microsoft Office 365 support article. Reference: how do i enable editing on a word document.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my Microsoft Word not letting me edit?

A: Microsoft Word is refusing to let you make edits on the text because its unsure how long this will last.

How do I unlock Word document for editing?

A: There are two ways to unlock documents. Either by going into the games settings, or you can use a program called Game Maker to edit your document and save it back in GameMaker if necessary.

How do I edit a Word document that Cannot be edited?

A: Word documents cannot be edited because they are not tracks. They can, however, be saved as a different file type such as PDF or XPS depending on the software youre using and what format it is in

unable to edit word document in windows 10
word won’t let me edit document
can’t edit word document selection locked
why can’t i edit my word document on ipad
unable to edit word document in compatibility mode

Unable to edit Word 2016 documents [SIMPLE GUIDE]