When you try to save a document in Word for Mac, file in Excel for Mac, or presentation in PowerPoint for Mac, you receive an error message: 

If you are saving the file over to a network share, try saving the file to your local hard disk. If the issue does not occur saving to local hard disk then contact your IT Department. If the problem occurs saving to local hard disk, proceed with the following troubleshooting steps. 

Note: Microsoft Technical Support only provides support for saving files to a local hard disk. 


Step 1: Empty Auto-Recovery folder


Move AutoRecovery files to the Desktop or another folder to see if they are causing the problem. 

1. Quit all applications.
2. In the Finder, click File and select New Folder. A New Folder will be created on your Desktop.
3. In the Finder, click Go then select Documents.
4. Open Microsoft User Data folder.
5. Open Office 2008Autorecovery or Office 2011 Auto-Recovery folder.
6. In the Finder, click Edit then click Select All.
7. Click and then drag the files into your New Folder on your Desktop. The Auto-Recovery folder now should be completely empty. 
8. Restart Office application to see if the problem is resolved. If the issue is resolved, you can review the New Folder file and decide which files you want to keep

Step 2:  Check Hard drive name

Check to ensure the hard drive does not have any special characters in its name. It should have text and can have numbers, but not at the start of the name.
To view your hard drive information:

1. Quit all applications.
2. In the Finder menu, click Go and then select Computer. Your hard drive should be listed. The common name of the hard drive is "Macintosh HD". E.g. “Mac HD 1” <without quotes is appropriate> “1 Mac HD” <this is not an appropriate name as the number 1 appears at the start of the name>. 

To rename your hard disk:

1. Click to select the hard disk.
2. On the Finder menu, click File then select Get Info.
3. In the Name & Extension type or edit the name. For example, type Macintosh HD.
4. When done, click the red circle button on top.

Step 3: Check Permissions

Check the permissions on the folder where you are trying to save to ensure that you have correct permissions. The folder must have both write and read permissions.

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