PowerPoint Can’t Locate Microsoft Word: 4 Solutions to Fix

Sometimes, you may encounter a situation where widely used Microsoft applications, PowerPoint and Word, fail to talk to each other seamlessly, for instance, PowerPoint can’t locate Microsoft Word. This is a common issue, and you can find help in this MiniTool post by following step-by-step instructions.

PowerPoint and Microsoft Word are both popular tools used by many users every day. While these tools are similar and belong to the same suite of programs, they each have unique functions and serve their specific purposes. If you use the Microsoft Office program at work, you may find that it is a convenient function to convert a PowerPoint presentation into a Word document. Encountering the issue with PowerPoint can’t locate Microsoft Word is frustrating for many users who rely on these tools for their presentations and document creation.

the error message

Help: I have a PowerPoint presentation that I want to “send” to MS Word for printing ‘WITH NOTES”. When I click on File ---> Send --->Microsoft Word, I can pick “Slides with Notes”. But when I click OK, it pauses, giving the error “Microsoft PowerPoint cannot locate Microsoft Word. Please ensure that Word is properly installed on this computer.” Microsoft Word IS installed and works individually. If I try to send FROM Word TO PowerPoint, it acts like it sends, but the PPT document is blank. experts-exchange.com

Reasons Why PowerPoint Can’t Write to Microsoft Word

Several reasons may cause this error:

  1. Compatibility issue: The different versions of PowerPoint and Word may cause the error that PowerPoint can’t write to Microsoft Word.
  2. Default save location: The save location of Word is not detected by PowerPoint, and PowerPoint may assume that Word is not installed on your PC.
  3. Installation issue: PowerPoint and Word are part of the Office package. This error might occur when you install them separately.
  4. Corrupted files: Issues with the Microsoft Office application itself, such as corrupted files, can trigger this error.

4 Methods to Fix Can’t Convert PowerPoint to Word

PowerPoint’s inability to communicate effectively with Word will cost users valuable time and effort to fix the issue manually and prevent compatibility issues and data loss. Considering the importance of efficient collaboration and productivity in today’s fast-paced working environment, it is crucial to immediately handle this error with PowerPoint can’t locate Microsoft Word.

Method 1: Update PowerPoint and Microsoft Word

PowerPoint can’t locate Microsoft Word possibly due to the compatibility issue when the version of PowerPoint and Word are different on your computer. Updating them may resolve the error.

Step 1: Click the small magnifying glass icon, type Microsoft Store in the box, and select the relevant result in the list.

Step 2: In the pop-up window, choose the Library option in the left pane and select Get updates in the right panel.

choose Library and select Get updates

If PowerPoint and Microsoft Word do not need to be updated on your computer, you can try the methods below to fix the issue.

Method 2: Repair Microsoft Office

Control Panel is a part of the Windows user interface that allows users to browse and change basic system settings, such as uninstalling software, controlling user accounts, and changing accessibility options. If PowerPoint can’t locate Microsoft Word on your PC, you can attempt to resolve this issue by repairing Microsoft Office via the Control Panel. Let’s see how.

Step 1: Type Control Panel in the search bar, and select the appropriate result from the list.

Step 2: After getting access to the Control Panel, navigate to this path: Programs > Programs and Features.

select Programs

Step 3: Click Microsoft Office and select the Change option on the top toolkit.

click Microsoft Office <a href=and select Change" />

Step 4: Choose the Yes button in the UAC prompt.

Step 5: In the following interface, check Quick Repair and click the Repair button.

tick Quick Repair and choose Repair

After completing the above steps, you need to give PowerPoint another try. Test if PowerPoint presentations can convert into Word documents. If not, you could repeat the Step 1-4 explained above and choose Online Repair in Step 5 to try another fix.

Method 3: Clear up the Temporary Files

PowerPoint and Word have accumulated a growing number of temporary files over time. When corrupted files are present among them, these corrupted files may cause various errors. Cleaning up the temporary files ensures that no corrupted files interfere with the application.

Step 1: Press the Win + R key combination to launch the Run dialog box.

Step 2: Copy and paste the following path and press Enter:

%appdata%\Microsoft

Step 3: Scroll down to find PowerPoint and Word files in the folder, right-click on them, and select the Delete option.

find the PowerPoint and Word files

Method 4: Disable Conflicting Add-ins

Conflicting add-ins can interfere with the integration between PowerPoint and Microsoft Word. You can fix the error by disabling add-ins:

Step 1: Open PowerPoint and navigate to the path: File > Options.

Step 2: Select the Add-ins option in the sidebar.

Step 3: Find the Manage dropdown and click it. Then select COM Add-ins and click on the Go… button.

change the option from the Manage dropdown

Step 4: Uncheck any add-ins that are enabled.

Step 5: Click OK and restart PowerPoint.

Bottom Line

In this post, we explained the reasons why PowerPoint can’t locate Microsoft Word and how to fix it step by step. When you get into this issue, you can follow the above methods. Hope everything is useful for you!

About The Author

Sandy became an English editor after graduation. She is devoted to finding effective solutions for diverse IT problems and provides articles on data recovery, data backup, and computer partitions and drives. In her spare time, she likes listening to music and playing games.