Disk is full, unless you save as DOCX

[Tobias Weber]

Hi,
occasionally Word will start complaining that my disk is full and it
can't save recovery information. Saving (As) the document doesn't work
either, on *any* volume. Unless I change to format from .doc to .docx,
in which case everything works fine...

This has happened a few times now, but I don't *want* to use the new
format. What to do?

 

[John McGhie]

Hi Tobias:

There's not much you can do ‹ It's a disk permission error. It means "A
file operation failed preventing the saving of the autorecovery file."

When Word is working on a document, it has as many as 26 files open, and it
was unable to do what it needed to do with one of them.

By switching to .docx, you release the .doc format version of the file.
Without advanced tools, it is difficult to say WHICH of the files is in
trouble. It is usually not the .doc file you are working on. Sometimes, a
"Repair Permissions" will help.

Make sure you have all the latest updates, for both OS X and Office,
applied.

If you do not want to use the new format, you would be better off to use
Word 2004.

Hope this helps

Hi,
occasionally Word will start complaining that my disk is full and it
can't save recovery information. Saving (As) the document doesn't work
either, on *any* volume. Unless I change to format from .doc to .docx,
in which case everything works fine...

This has happened a few times now, but I don't *want* to use the new
format. What to do?

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP, Word and Word:Mac
Sydney, Australia. mailto:[email protected]

 

[Tobias Weber]

There's not much you can do — It's a disk permission error.

No, it's a bug

Without advanced tools, it is difficult to say WHICH of the files is in
trouble.

I didn't do an lsof because I don't see why any file should prevent me
from saving as a new one

Make sure you have all the latest updates, for both OS X and Office,

I have, and the problem isn't mentioned in the release notes

If you do not want to use the new format, you would be better off to use
Word 2004.

That's not what it said on the package

Hope this helps

Thank you. I gather this is a known issue?

 

[Phillip Jones, C.E.T.]

Are you doing a *save* or a *save as...*
Doing *save you just keep appending the new information to end of
document then the old is marked as invisible.

Try doing a *Save AS...* and changing the title slightly. Then you can
always rename it in finder after removing the old document. (with Word
Closed) Actually for myself I rarely use Just *Save* I almost always use
*Save As...* never retaining the original document.

 

[Tobias Weber]

Are you doing a *save* or a *save as...*

I wrote that neither works. Save As can be made to work by changing the
format in the dialog from doc to docx.

 

[Phillip Jones, C.E.T.]

Okay. You did change the name of the file (not the extension for the
test, I suppose?

 

[John McGhie]

If you want to be rude, consider doing it somewhere else, thanks. We're not
Microsoft, we're just other users like you.

No, it's a bug

How old are you? My mother was very insistent about the fact that
contradicting people was the height of bad manners

I didn't do an lsof because I don't see why any file should prevent me
from saving as a new one

Good. At least you understand that much. The "file" is not preventing you
from saving anything. Apple OS X is preventing whatever it is that needs to
happen. That may be due to permissions set on one or more folders in your
user account.

I have, and the problem isn't mentioned in the release notes

You must be the first person I have encountered who has actually read the
release notes You have to allow them half a mark for that: the Release
Notes were written prior to "release", and thus, before the problem became
known.

That's not what it said on the package

Take that up with Microsoft: they did the packaging. You're not talking to
Microsoft here ‹ they're not reading this.

Thank you. I gather this is a known issue?

Yes. It is perhaps the best-known issue in Office 2008. Unfortunately,
what is NOT known (at least, not by anyone outside Apple or Microsoft) is
what the cure is.

Cheers

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP, Word and Word:Mac
Sydney, Australia. mailto:[email protected]