Office for Mac running slowly? Here’s how to speed it up

We all rely on Microsoft Office for productivity, in an office setting or at home. And while Microsoft does a great job when it comes to keeping Microsoft Office stable, there are situations when Office apps are not as fast as we might want. If Microsoft Office is running slowly for you, you’re probably not alone. However, there are certain optimisations and improvements you can make to speed up Office for Mac. Here are some of the most common methods to inject new life into your Office install:

Reasons why Microsoft Office slows down

Microsoft Office can end up running slowly because of one, or even all, of the following:

Office files get corrupted and the application runs slowly as a result.

A buildup of temporary files can cause a slowdown.

Microsoft Office has not been updated. Updates can speed up the application.

Documents that have DOC or DOCM extensions might be storing macros, which can lead to delays when opening documents.

Lack of hardware resources on the device.

Uninstall and re-install Microsoft Office

As detailed in this article, one of the best methods to speed up Microsoft Office is to reinstall it, a process which will overwrite corrupted elements and/or replace any missing files. Fully deleting the app is important to create a fresh environment for the reinstallation.

Go to the Applications folder and move the Microsoft Office folder to the Trash.

Press Shift+Command+G to open “~/Library/Containers”.

From the Group Containers folder, drag UBF8T346G9.OfficeOsfWebHost, ubf8t346g9.office and ubf8t346g9.ms to the Trash.

Trash the following: com.microsoft.onenote.mac, com.microsoft.Word, com.microsoft.RMS-XPCService, com.microsoft.Powerpoint, com.microsoft.Outlook, com.microsoft.Excel and any other file that contains ‘.com.microsoft’ in its name.

Use a Mac cleanup tool

An alternative is to use a cleanup tool. Cleanup tools identify any remaining files or temporary files from apps and remove them. The advantage for less technically-skilled users is that the deletion of unwanted or unused files happens with just the press of a button.

Cleanup tools can also uninstall apps. As we saw earlier, manually installing and then re-installing Office can be tricky to perform manually. With a cleanup tool, app removal is streamlined and automatic. The cleanup app removes files for you, saving time and ensuring all elements of Office are fully removed from your Mac.

Update your Microsoft Office installation

Microsoft releases plenty of updates for Microsoft Office, and, in general, it’s a good idea to keep apps updated. If you’re still using an older version of Office, it’s possibly one of the reasons for poor performance. Users are typically notified by the Microsoft Office Update tool whenever a new version is available, plus, there’s always the option of going to Microsoft’s website and downloading available updates manually.

Manually delete temporary files

Using a cleanup tool is the best option to find and delete temporary files. However, if you’re a confident Mac user, empty the contents of ‘~/Library/Caches’ into the Trash. Again, use Shift+Command+G to locate the folder.

Reinstall an older version

If after reinstalling Office and running all available updates, the problem persists, it may be worth using an older version of Office. Start with a version that’s only a month or two older than the original, and then progress to even older versions, testing the performance of the application as you go.