This document is either deleted or not currently accessible.

The message "This document is either deleted or not currently accessible" indicates that Word cannot reach the file at the location shown in the error, even though it still appears in the Recent list.

Based on similar cases, the most common causes on Mac are:

1. The file was stored in a cloud location (such as Dropbox, OneDrive, or another sync service) and is no longer available or not syncing correctly.
2. Word’s recent list is pointing to a path that no longer exists or where the file name/path has changed.
3. The file exists only as a temporary or hidden file in a cache or temp folder.

To avoid losing access to documents and to decide whether to keep the subscription, the following checks and recovery steps are recommended:

1. Confirm the actual file location
   • In Word, note the full path shown in the error dialog (folder and service, for example Dropbox or OneDrive).
   • Open Finder and manually browse to that folder.
   • If the file is missing there, it has either been moved, deleted, or never saved correctly to that location.
2. Check the cloud storage service
   • If the path points to Dropbox, OneDrive, or another sync folder, open that service’s app or web interface.
   • Verify whether the file exists there, has been deleted, or is in a “deleted”/“recycle bin”/“trash” area.
   • If it was deleted, restore it from the service’s recycle bin if available.
3. Look for alternate or temporary copies
   • If the file does not appear in its expected folder or in the cloud service, search in Finder for recently modified files with similar dates or sizes.
   • Check hidden or temporary folders used by the sync service (for example, Dropbox cache) for files with numeric or unexpected names that may correspond to the missing documents.
   • If such files are found and cannot be opened in Word, try opening them with TextEdit to recover the text, then copy and paste into a new Word document and save it to a known, accessible folder.
4. Prevent future access issues
   • Ensure that Word is properly connected to the cloud service being used (for example, sign in to the correct account in the sync app and confirm it is running and fully synced).
   • When working on important documents, periodically verify in Finder or the cloud web interface that the file is actually present and updating in the intended folder.

If documents are consistently becoming inaccessible, verify that any add-ins or integrations (such as citation managers) are not interfering with saving, and consider saving critical work locally first, then copying to cloud storage after confirming the save.

References:

• Two documents are inaccessible after I updated Word - Microsoft Q&A