Mac software
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Microsoft Office 2016 is slow to start
QAfter upgrading to Microsoft Office 2016 (from 2011), opening each app has been painfully slow, with icons bouncing in the Dock for 20 seconds or more. Once running they’re fine. How can I fix this? by Deane Robinson
AThe apps in Microsoft Office 2016 do tend to be more sluggish to start up, but shouldn’t be taking that long. Word can sometimes struggle to find old folders listed in the File Locations section of its preferences, but delays like this most commonly result from font problems.
It’s usually best to put the special Microsoft fonts in a folder named Microsoft in /Library/ Fonts, although Office 2016 now stores a copy of its bundled fonts internally too. Check that these are available in Font Book.
You may need to clear font caches. The simplest method is to start up in safe mode (see bit.ly/mfsafemd). Let your Mac get going fully, then restart back in its normal mode. You may also need to open Font Book again and choose File > Restore Standard Fonts to return your Mac’s fonts back to the set that ship with macOS. This also moves any extra ones you’ve installed to a separate folder, disabling them. You’ll then need to move the Microsoft Office fonts back from /Library/Fonts (Removed), which is created during that restoration.
If all else fails, uninstall Microsoft Office, then reinstall it using a freshly downloaded copy. If you’re still mystified as to what’s causing this, try EtreCheck’s generic diagnosis tool (eclecticlight.co), which can spot other clashes and issues that might be responsible for generally poor performance.