Microsoft 365 installed yesterday. icons or access to Word, Excell or Powerpoint.

Suzette Lyon 0 Reputation points
2026-10-05T14:28:49.7166667+00:00

When opening Word or other document I get select an app to open this file.

I cannot find icons for Word etc to put on task bar.

When opening a document all icons except PDF are empty boxes

One drive says backed up and sync

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | For home | Windows
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  1. AI answer

    2026-10-05T14:29:07.9566667+00:00

    This looks like a Windows file association and Office installation issue, not a OneDrive sync issue. Since OneDrive shows backed up and synced, focus on repairing Office and re-associating Office file types.

    1. Repair Microsoft 365
      • Right-click Start.
      • In Windows 11, select Installed apps. In Windows 10, select Apps and Features.
      • Select Microsoft Office or Microsoft 365.
      • Select Modify.
      • If prompted, choose Online Repair and then Repair.
      • Complete the repair, then restart the PC.
      Note: this repairs the whole Office suite. It is the best option when Word, Excel, and PowerPoint icons are missing or the apps do not open correctly.
    2. Check whether the apps are installed and can be launched
      • Select Start.
      • Type Word, Excel, or PowerPoint.
      • If found, open each app once.
      • If the apps open, they can then be pinned to the taskbar by right-clicking the app from Start or search results and choosing Pin to taskbar.
    3. Re-associate Office files with the correct apps
      • Select Start.
      • Type and open Control Panel.
      • Select Programs > Default Programs.
      • Under Set a default for a file type or link type, choose the file type and set the correct Office app.
      • Repeat for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint file types as needed.
      This addresses the “select an app to open this file” prompt when opening documents.
    4. If Office file icons are blank after installation
      • Open Start > Settings > Apps.
      • Find Microsoft Office Desktop Apps.
      • Select Advanced options.
      • Select Fix.
      • Restart the device.
      • If the problem continues, repeat the steps and select Reset instead of Fix.
    5. If pinned taskbar icons disappeared or are not showing
      • Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
      • Find Windows Explorer on the Processes tab.
      • Right-click it and select Restart.

    If the repair completes successfully, the expected result is:

    • Word, Excel, and PowerPoint appear in Start search
    • documents open in the correct Office app
    • Office file icons return instead of blank boxes
    • apps can be pinned to the taskbar
    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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  2. DaveM121 937.9K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-10-05T15:05:04.59+00:00

    1

    Open your Start Menu.

    Click the button to show the long alphabetical list of installed apps on your Start Menu.

    In that list, you will find the Office Apps (Word, Excel...etc.).

    Right click each app[, and you can select 'Pin to Taskbar' to put the apps on your Taskbar.

    Or you can drag an Office app from that long alphabetical list onto your Desktop to create a new Desktop icon for the app.

    2

    For the other problem.

    Right click a Word file and select Properties.

    On the resulting Properties dialog, click the Change button.

    In the resulting list, select Word to open the file.

    That will set the file associations for Word documents.

    You can perform the same process for Excel, PowerPoint... etc. and other Office files.

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  3. Suzette Lyon 0 Reputation points
    2026-10-05T15:24:19.5633333+00:00

    Microsoft Office of Microsoft 365 is not found. Only Microsoft 365 copilot.

    I was able to open document yesterday after installing.

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  4. DaveM121 937.9K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-10-05T15:36:32.4533333+00:00

    1

    On your Start menu in the long alphabetical list of installed apps, do you not find Word, Excel, PowerPoint... etc. listed?

    2

    If not, log into your Microsoft account on this link, what version of Office is listed there.

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