Unable to save Microsoft Word documents on my iMac desktop

If you are using Office 365 (aka MS 365), your sign-in may have gone wonky. It happens from time to time. Do the following, as it usually solves the problem:

• Open Word
• Sign out (Menu strip > Word > Sign out)
• Close Word
• Re-open Word
• Sign in

OTOH, if you can save Word docs to your Mac but just not to the Desktop you probably have to give Full Disk Access to your Office 365 apps. In that case, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access and add Word to the list of apps allowed. If you also use Excel, PPT & Outlook, add them also.

It’s definitely possible to save files directly to your local drive instead of to the Cloud (since this is a Microsoft product, I am assuming that it is trying to save to Microsoft's OneDrive.) I know, because I have my Word & Excel documents saved to my Mac. It's just that Microsoft nudges you toward the cloud by default, but you can override that easily.

To do so:

1. Open the Microsoft Word app.
2. Go to the Word menu in the top-left of the menu bar, and choose Preferences.
3. In Preferences, click on Save.
4. Look for the option labeled "Save to Computer by default"—make sure this is checked.
5. While you're there, you can also click the "Default file location" box and browse to a folder on your Mac (like Documents or a custom folder on your desktop). This will be your new default save location.

From now on, every time you hit Save or Save As, it should default to your Mac instead of prompting you for OneDrive. You’ll still have access to cloud saves if you want to use them, but your Mac will be first in line.

Open a blank Microsoft Word page. Scribble things, even if you don't scribble. Save (Command+S). A Finder window will open. You can choose where you want to save from the toolbar at the top.

What happens when you try?

If you're getting an error message, what does it say?

We can't exactly look over your shoulder to see what's wrong. You have to give us something to work with.

What is the difference between saving an "original" and saving a copy?

If this original is from somewhere else, put it on the desktop before opening Word.

I can't either with the browser version of Word.

This is a Microsoft thing.