Word for Mac getting slow

Hi Daniel Alba

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A Forum and sharing your experience.

Your MacBook Air 2018 is definitely capable of running Word 365. According to Microsoft's official system requirements, the app is supported on the three most recent versions of macOS. Since your device supports macOS Sonoma, it meets all technical standards to run the software.

• To isolate the issue, you should first try opening the document in Word for the Web (via your browser). If the document runs smoothly there but lags on your desktop app, the issue is isolated to the local client or system cache.
• I recommend performing a Safe Mode cycle, which clears system caches, font caches, and temporary swap files in one go. To do this, shut down your Mac completely. Turn it on and immediately press and hold Shift until the login window appears. Log in (you may see "Safe Boot" in the menu bar), wait a moment, and then restart your Mac normally.
• If performance remains suboptimal after the restart, the issue likely stems from the document’s high graphical overhead, which strains the application’s rendering engine. To address this, compress the embedded images. Note: This process reduces image resolution, so I strongly recommend saving a backup copy of your document first to preserve the original high-quality images. Once backed up, open the document and navigate to File > Reduce File Size. Select a balance between quality and size, such as On-screen or Print, which typically restores smooth scrolling and typing responsiveness immediately.

I hope this detailed explanation clears things up and one of these steps gets you back up and running. Please let us know how you get on, as your feedback can help others in the community facing the same problem.

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