8 Fixes | This Document is Either Deleted or Not Currently Accessible (Mac & Windows)

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The other day when I tried to access one of my Word files, I couldn’t open it and it said “This document is either deleted or not currently accessible”. This happened unexpectedly and I felt puzzled. During the process of figuring out what the error message exactly means, I found that Excel and PowerPoint users have encountered similar issues as well. After days of careful research, now I am confident enough to introduce 8 proven solutions, getting Microsoft Office app users covered to fix “This document is either deleted or not currently accessible” issue on both Mac and Windows.

Why does Word say This document is either deleted or not currently accessible?

Before taking an action, learn about the reasons that may do you a great favor. There are various factors leading to Word keeping saying this document is either deleted or not currently accessible. The major ones that appear in front of us are briefly listed as follows:

• The file was moved to different location.
• The file name was modified.
• The file was deleted by accident.
• Partial contents of the document were lost since you closed it without saving.
• The file got corrupted or damaged.
• You have no necessary permission to open the document.
• The version of your Microsoft Word is out of date.
• ...

How to fix "This document is either deleted or not currently accessible"?

After getting familiar with the root cause of your problem about inaccessible Word/Excel/PowerPoint file, it's time to suit the remedy to the case. Just check out the full guide below to deal with "This document is either deleted or not currently accessible" error.

1# Check file name and location

Before we dive into more complex methods, it's wise to start with the basics. Simply renaming or misplacing a file can trigger an inaccessible Word document. So what we are supposed to do firstly is check the file name and make sure the file location is right.

Open Mac Finder or Windows File Explorer, head to the folder where your document was originally stored, and look for the file with correct name and extension. If the file is not present as you expect, try to search your entire computer for the file, locate and open it from the new path if possible.

2# Recover deleted document from Trash/Recycle Bin

As the phrase suggests, when you see "This document is either deleted or not currently accessible", it potentially means your document has been deleted. Then go to check your Mac Trash or Windows Recycle Bin, where the file might be held still. This time we'll give a tutorial for Mac users, but the workflow on Windows is pretty much the same.

1. Double-click the Trash icon in the dock to open it.
2. Find the deleted document you need to recover.
3. Right-click on it > select Put Back to revert it back. Now you can open the file normally.

3# Recover inaccessible document with Cisdem

In case the document is not available in Trash/Recycle Bin, more seriously, it’s likely to be removed permanently from your local hard disk. Here comes a useful helper to recover it --- Cisdem Data Recovery for Mac or Windows. In addition to restoring permanently deleted files, this tool also supports to repair corrupted files including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and so on. Therefore, whether the issue is caused by mistaken deletion or document corruption, Cisdem Data Recovery can be utilized to fix “This document is either deleted or not currently accessible” with no fuss.

Key features of Cisdem Data Recovery:

• Repair damaged videos, pictures and documents
• Recover 200+ types of file: MS Office Word/Excel/PowerPoint, iWork Pages/Numbers/Keynote, browser bookmarks, photos, videos, audios, archives, emails, raw files, etc.
• Retrieve unsaved Word, Excel, PowerPoint, WPS, Photoshop files
• Support various data loss situations: emptied Trash, formatting, system crash, virus attack, firmware faults, OS upgrade/downgrade/re-installation, etc.
• Restore data from both internal and external storage media
• Recover recently and permanently deleted files from iCloud
• Preview documents before recovery
• Save recovered items to local drive or cloud
• Support crashed computer data recovery

How to recover an inaccessible (Word) document using Cisdem Data Recovery?

1. Download, install and run this program on your Mac/PC.
   Free Download macOS 10.9 or later Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7
2. In Hardware Disk, select the location where the inaccessible document was saved. Click “Search for lost files” to start the scanning.
3. During or after scanning, go to Type > Documents and use filter tool to locate the document you want to recover. You’re also allowed to type file name in the search bar for quick navigation.
4. Select the wanted document to have a preview. If the document is corrupted, Cisdem will repair it automatically. Finally click Recover button for retrieval.

4# Use Open and Repair feature

To fix “This document is either deleted or not currently accessible” error out of file corruption, the next feasible way is to adopt built-in repair feature within MS Office apps. In Word, we can use the Open and Repair option to detect and eliminate any issues that prevent you from accessing the document.

1. Open up Word app > tap File in the menu setting > click Open.
2. Choose the corrupted file you want to repair > click the drop-down arrow at Open > select Repair.
3. Choose Open button to fix and open the repaired document.

5# Repair corrupted file online

Another attempt to fix a broken document and make it accessible again is turning for online file repair tools. Those web-based applications usually have the ability to repair problematic files with minor errors. This is more of a hit-and-miss method.

Quite a few online tools can be found yourself, such as Recovery Toolbox, SecureData Online File Repair, EaseUS Online File Repair and more. All you need to do is upload the document (that can’t be opened) onto the repair tool’s server and follow up any subsequent prompts for repair. Under most scenarios, you can get a demo version of the repaired file for free, but need to pay if downloading a full version.

6# Restore a previous version in OneDrive

Provided that your document is stored in OneDrive, an alternative solution to fix “This document is either deleted or not currently accessible” could be restoring an earlier version of this document in OneDrive, so that we are able to successfully open the file that’s in a good status.

1. Log in to OneDrive with your Microsoft account.
2. Find the file to be restored to a previous version > right-click on it > choose Version history.
3. Select the ellipses (...) next to the version of the document you want to restore > click Restore.

7# Verify file permissions

In some cases, a document can’t be opened properly because the user account has no right permissions to access it. So make sure you are attributed with the required permissions to troubleshoot “This document is either deleted or not currently accessible” problem. Step-by-step instructions will be elaborated respectively on macOS and Windows.

For Mac:

1. Open Finder > right-click on the inaccessible document > select Get Info.
2. In the pop-up window, scroll down to reach Sharing & Permissions section and expand it.
3. Beside your user account, click the Privilege option > ensure Read & Write is selected.
4. Exit the window and try to reopen your document.

For Windows:

1. Open File Explorer > right-click on the can’t-open file > choose Properties.
2. Go to Security tab > select your user account > ensure that the relevant permissions (Full control, Modify, Read & execute, Read, Write, etc.) are selected.
3. Click Apply > OK and check if the document can be accessed without issue.

8# Update Microsoft Office app

Moreover, the MS Office app with too old version may also hinder you from opening a Word, Excel or PowerPoint file. The solution is to update the app, making its performance keep up with your computer’s settings. The way to achieve this will vary between macOS and Windows.

For Mac:

1. Click the Apple menu > choose App Store.
2. Select Updates from the left panel.
3. Check if your MS Office app (like Word) appears with an Update button. If so, click Update.
4. Wait for the Update button to change into Open, relaunch the Office app, and try accessing your file again.

For Windows:

1. Open your Office app (such as Word), start a new document > click File tab.
2. Go to Account > Update Options > Update Now to check for and apply any updates.
3. Reopen the app and verify if “This document is either deleted or not currently accessible” has been solved.

Write in the end

When my Word could not open the document and I saw the error message “This document is either deleted or not currently accessible” on my desktop, my first reaction was I wouldn’t like to lose my file which had taken me much energy and time. That would be so disheartening. I tried Cisdem Data Recovery. Thankfully, this handy tool brought my file back safely in a pretty efficient manner. Now I strongly recommend it to you. Of course you can also have a look at other methods discussed in this article, at least one of which should help you get rid of you problem.