Applies to: Microsoft Word 2013, 2016, 2019
Symptoms
Word freezes on the blue splash screen with a message in the bottom left saying Opening filename.docx... or Loading template.dotx.... This happens when you try to open a document from OneDrive folders on your computer.
Solution 1
Try this first to resolve temporary issues affecting individual files in OneDrive:
- Select Start , type "taskkill /F /IM winword.exe" then press Enter to close the frozen instance of Word
- Open your document again. If prompted, select No for opening in safe mode, and select Yes to reopen the document even though it caused a problem before
- Word will open a copy of your document. Once this has worked, close Word and re-open your document a second time to view it in normal editing mode
Solution 2
For more persistent problems with a specific document follow the steps below to unlink your document from a template that isn't available. This tends to be required when Word freezes on the blue splash screen with a message in the bottom left saying Loading template.dotx...
- Select Start , type "taskkill /F /IM winword.exe" then press Enter to close the frozen instance of Word
- Right-click on the blue cloud OneDrive icon in the system tray, choose Settings
- On the Office tab unselect Use Office applications to sync Office files that I open and click OK
- Open your document again. If prompted, select No for opening in safe mode, and select Yes to reopen the document even though it caused a problem before
- Choose File > Options > Add-ins, in the Manage drop-down select Templates and click Go...
- Delete any text under Document Template and click OK
- Close and save your document
- Turn Use Office applications to sync Office files that I open back on