Word document does not open - problem with template

Question

I have a share point folder synced to my computer. I have repeatedly trouble opening word documents that have been created based on a specific word template (.dotx). In those cases, when I open the document in my local synced folder Word opens and
the bottom border of Word indicates that it is "Opening" the template file. This process never seems to complete and Word must be closed through Ctrl-Alt-Del. Suggestions would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Hi AlexBXL，
DOTX files use the newer Open XML-based Word document format, which was introduced in Microsoft Office 2007.  They can opened in Microsoft Word 2007 or previous versions of Word with Open XML component support.
You can open the DOTX files with Microsoft Word 2007 or previous versions of Word. Or you can convert the documents to the Word 2013 mode.
Here is an article about using Word 2013 to open documents created in earlier versions of Word, you can use as a reference:
https://support.office.com/en-sg/article/Use-Word-2013-to-open-documents-created-in-earlier-versions-of-Word-609bbdba-96f2-407b-baaf-d8e53d60d34f?ui=en-US&rs=en-SG&ad=SG
Best Regards,
Lisa Chen
Lisa Chen
TechNet Community Support