"compile error in hidden module:link" on mac 365

Question

_{Wednesday, July 13, 2016 3:52 PM | 5 votes}

Every time I open and close MS Word with the current version of 365 (July 2016), I get the following error message:

"compile error in hidden module:link"

Once launched MS Word functions as usual. It is annoying to see the error. Suggestions on how to fix this. I've looked through the forums and have only found Windows related solutions and those back to MS Word 2013.

Thank you…

All replies (145)

_{Thursday, July 14, 2016 5:02 PM ✅Answered | 164 votes}

I HAVE THE ANSWER!

Well, this worked for me, anyway.

Since I updated to Word version 15.24 recently, when I either start up or quit Word, I get the error describe: "compiler error in hidden module: link".

The reply given above by Steve Fan is what led me to find the solution, but didn't work in itself. The path describe above simply doesn't lead to the described content. However, having previously found (with great difficulty) Outlook's new location for storing its email database, I had a clue where to start looking.

So basically, the path that Steve Fan should have quoted is as follows:

~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User Content/Startup/Word/

I.e. start tunnelling down from your home folder (~), not the root of the startup disk.

Inside the above Word folder I found a new file (dated 30 Jun 16) called "linkCreation.dotm". Promising, I thought, given the 'link' reference in the name and in the error message.

I moved this file out of the folder and tried loading and quitting Word again. This time it worked fine, without the error message. Solved!

For what it's worth, I also had another file called "Bookends.dot" in the above folder alongside the problem file. I left that in place, and it isn't causing a problem.

Hope that helps someone else…

_{Wednesday, July 13, 2016 7:52 PM}

Seeing the same error, also with Word 15.25 (160707) on macOS.

_{Thursday, July 14, 2016 8:30 AM | 6 votes}

Hi,

Please check if you have anything in the Word startup folder. This is usually located at /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office365/User Content/Startup/Word. If there is anything in the folder, try moving the file to another location and then start Word to see if this issue continues.

Please let me know the result.

Regards,

Steve Fan
TechNet Community Support

Please mark the reply as an answer if you find it is helpful.

If you have feedback for TechNet Support, contact [email protected].

_{Thursday, July 14, 2016 8:33 AM}

Hello Steve,

For me, there is no subfolder 

Office365/User Content/Startup/Word, sorry...

_{Thursday, July 14, 2016 12:38 PM}

I found the folder at /Applications/Office/Startup/Word

This contained a file called Link.md

I deleted the file but it hasn't made any difference.

_{Thursday, July 14, 2016 6:47 PM | 1 vote}

Thank you Richard for your post. I had the exact same issue, and your solution worked. It's frustrating that updating Office 365 actually "breaks" the app.

_{Friday, July 15, 2016 1:21 AM}

Awesome!! Thank you for sharing your experience here, Richard. @Jonathan, please check if the solution provided by Richard works for your situation. If you need further assistance, please feel free toe let me know.

Regards,

Steve Fan
TechNet Community Support

Please mark the reply as an answer if you find it is helpful.

If you have feedback for TechNet Support, contact [email protected].

_{Friday, July 15, 2016 8:03 PM}

Yep.  That did it.  Thanks.

_{Saturday, July 16, 2016 12:29 AM}

Richard, this worked for me, thanks!

_{Saturday, July 16, 2016 12:58 PM | 1 vote}

Genius.  It worked.  Thank you!

_{Saturday, July 16, 2016 6:12 PM | 1 vote}

Bless you Richard.  I had the same issue and your brilliant I HAVE THE ANSWER! solved my problem.  Send me a bill.  :-)

_{Sunday, July 17, 2016 3:08 PM}

Thanks, fix the annoying error

_{Sunday, July 17, 2016 4:49 PM}

Thanks Richard, worked perfectly.

I think it is due to MS going from a 32-bit system to a 64-bit one with the latest 15.25 release - orphaned file.

regards

rob

_{Monday, July 18, 2016 8:07 AM}

I had the exact same issue and the solution you suggested worked so I am very happy.

_{Monday, July 18, 2016 3:46 PM | 1 vote}

This answer did not work for me.

First, I do not have the path you mentioned (~Library/Group Containers...) but I did find the file "linkCreation.dotm."

I found it in ~Applications/Office/Startup/Word. 

I deleted it but still have the same problem... every start and stop I get error: "compile error in hidden module:link"

.... STILL frustrated!

Tim G.

_{Monday, July 18, 2016 3:54 PM}

Premature Post earlier!  

I kept digging for a few minutes... I finally found the path Richard mentioned and there it was. Deleted... problem solved.  

I just did not dig back far enough the first time. my apologies!

Tim G

_{Wednesday, July 20, 2016 11:23 PM}

This one worked for me too, thanks!

_{Thursday, July 21, 2016 3:36 AM | 9 votes}

I HAVE THE ANSWER!

Well, this worked for me, anyway.

Since I updated to Word version 15.24 recently, when I either start up or quit Word, I get the error describe: "compiler error in hidden module: link".

The reply given above by Steve Fan is what led me to find the solution, but didn't work in itself. The path describe above simply doesn't lead to the described content. However, having previously found (with great difficulty) Outlook's new location for storing its email database, I had a clue where to start looking.

*** START

So basically, the path that Steve Fan should have quoted is as follows:

~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User Content/Startup/Word/

***** END **

I.e. start tunnelling down from your home folder (~), not the root of the startup disk.

Inside the above Word folder I found a new file (dated 30 Jun 16) called "linkCreation.dotm". Promising, I thought, given the 'link' reference in the name and in the error message.

I moved this file out of the folder and tried loading and quitting Word again. This time it worked fine, without the error message. Solved!

For what it's worth, I also had another file called "Bookends.dot" in the above folder alongside the problem file. I left that in place, and it isn't causing a problem.

Hope that helps someone else…

Thank you Richard Hallas for saving me TONS of aggravation & endless cases of punching my desk every freakin' time I opened & closed Word 2016 (or whatever version I'm using with my Mac Office 365).

I should also note to anyone that may be discouraged by your lengthy explanation NOT TO PANIC - Richard's steps are VERY EASY TO FOLLOW:

1. From FINDER, go to the GO menu.
2. Select 'Go to folder'
3. Paste EXACTLY what Richard had included in his very helpful post. (starting from ~/Library... and don't worry, the folder is there if you were affected by the update; the lengthy numbered folders aren't specific to Richard's machine; they are on yours too. Delete the file inside that folder.
4. Thank him for his very informative explanation as to how Microsoft F'ed up and why Richard is doing their job yet I'm still paying them.

_{Friday, July 22, 2016 3:46 PM}

Dude! Gold Star for the day. 

Richard Hallas - you rock! 

_{Tuesday, July 26, 2016 3:06 PM}

Worked, thank you!

_{Wednesday, July 27, 2016 10:41 PM}

Worked for me too. Thank you!

_{Thursday, July 28, 2016 12:58 AM}

Same problem for me - started with 15.25

Fixed by deleting the "linkCreation.dotm" file that I found at ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User Content/Startup/Word/

Cheers guys!!!

_{Friday, July 29, 2016 4:19 PM}

Thanks so much, I eliminated 

linkCreation.dotm

related to word and it was fine!! Not more problems

I found it with with an excellent program that I use the most of the times, looking for hidden files

_{Friday, July 29, 2016 9:41 PM}

Great! This worked using the GO menu cut and paste method.

Thanks to all.

_{Friday, July 29, 2016 10:27 PM}

Richard, this worked for me, thanks!

_{Sunday, July 31, 2016 5:11 PM}

"Inside the above Word folder I found a new file (dated 30 Jun 16) called "linkCreation.dotm". Promising, I thought, given the 'link' reference in the name and in the error message.

I moved this file out of the folder and tried loading and quitting Word again. This time it worked fine, without the error message. Solved!"

I coudn't find it via the folder trail you listed, but I just did a search for this file.  I found one in my old Word 2011 folder and one in the Word 2016. 

I, too, removed this file, started Word again, and quit, and the message went away. 

Just find that one file.  It's all you need to know. 

Thank you!

_{Monday, August 1, 2016 1:29 PM}

Worked for me! Thanks!!

_{Monday, August 1, 2016 5:58 PM}

THANK YOU, Richard. It worked for me, too. I had two files with the same name, created on two different days. I deleted both, and now I don't have the problem.

Stephen

_{Monday, August 1, 2016 6:49 PM}

Thank you!! I was bothered by this for weeks and was very relieved to find this in the Google Search results for the issue. Cheers!

_{Monday, August 1, 2016 11:42 PM}

Thanks Richard, this also fix my annoying error every open and close MS word 365. Thanks

_{Thursday, August 4, 2016 12:35 AM}

I had the same problem, and this totally worked for me. Still having a problem with the Custom Dictionary. I have recreated the dictionary from a basic text file and still unable to access it through Word.

_{Thursday, August 4, 2016 4:59 AM}

Just used my mac spotlight and searched for linkCreation.dotm created on 6/30 and showed all in finder.  Deleted the file and all better!!!

Thanks so much!

_{Thursday, August 4, 2016 4:32 PM}

yeah, that worked Richard. I don't know how you got there but I'm glad you did your awesomeness!

_{Thursday, August 4, 2016 9:08 PM}

That was VERY helpful!  Thank you so much!

_{Monday, August 8, 2016 3:30 AM}

I HAVE THE ANSWER!

Well, this worked for me, anyway.

Since I updated to Word version 15.24 recently, when I either start up or quit Word, I get the error describe: "compiler error in hidden module: link".

The reply given above by Steve Fan is what led me to find the solution, but didn't work in itself. The path describe above simply doesn't lead to the described content. However, having previously found (with great difficulty) Outlook's new location for storing its email database, I had a clue where to start looking.

So basically, the path that Steve Fan should have quoted is as follows:

~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User Content/Startup/Word/

I.e. start tunnelling down from your home folder (~), not the root of the startup disk.

Inside the above Word folder I found a new file (dated 30 Jun 16) called "linkCreation.dotm". Promising, I thought, given the 'link' reference in the name and in the error message.

I moved this file out of the folder and tried loading and quitting Word again. This time it worked fine, without the error message. Solved!

For what it's worth, I also had another file called "Bookends.dot" in the above folder alongside the problem file. I left that in place, and it isn't causing a problem.

Hope that helps someone else…

Worked for me.  Had to use Spotlight to find the files.  I had 2 of them.  Just sent them straight to the trash.  One of them required me to enter my Admin password, the other did not.

Closed Word and restarted without incident.

Thanks.

_{Tuesday, August 9, 2016 11:27 AM}

This worked and thank you,  but I'm wondering when you say you "moved this file out of the folder" where did you move it to? I moved mine to the desktop - do I need to leave it there? HB

_{Wednesday, August 10, 2016 1:06 PM}

Thank you Richard Hallas for saving me TONS of aggravation & endless cases of punching my desk every freakin' time I opened & closed Word 2016 (or whatever version I'm using with my Mac Office 365).

I should also note to anyone that may be discouraged by your lengthy explanation NOT TO PANIC - Richard's steps are VERY EASY TO FOLLOW:

1. From FINDER, go to the GO menu.
2. Select 'Go to folder'
3. Paste EXACTLY what Richard had included in his very helpful post. (starting from ~/Library... and don't worry, the folder is there if you were affected by the update; the lengthy numbered folders aren't specific to Richard's machine; they are on yours too. Delete the file inside that folder.
4. Thank him for his very informative explanation as to how Microsoft F'ed up and why Richard is doing their job yet I'm still paying them.

This is what you need to know to solve the problem easily. Thank you M Fish and Richard  ;)

_{Thursday, August 11, 2016 3:44 PM}

Thanks - this worked for me too!

_{Thursday, August 11, 2016 4:26 PM}

great! 

it worked also for me!

Thanks!!

_{Thursday, August 11, 2016 5:23 PM}

This worked for me - thanks Steve and Richard!  My question now is - can I now delete the linkCreation.dotm from my desktop, or do I have to leave it there?

Thanks!

Karen

_{Friday, August 12, 2016 2:20 PM}

Thank you for saving my sanity. Worked like a charm.

_{Monday, August 15, 2016 5:56 AM}

This also worked for me.

_{Monday, August 15, 2016 8:42 AM}

Thanks that worked for me too

_{Monday, August 15, 2016 9:27 AM}

It was the same for me.  I found LinkCreation.dotm in the same path, removed it, and am still having the same problems.

_{Tuesday, August 16, 2016 12:42 AM}

Thks this worked for me (Office 15.11.2) I kept the file "just in case.." but so far so good!

_{Tuesday, August 16, 2016 5:47 AM}

Worked for me. Hint: use your search tool on the Mac. Just enter: linkCreation.dotm and delete the file. If you have a Word doc open you may have two files. Delete them. You will get the error message when you close Word but when you re-open everything is perfect. 

_{Tuesday, August 16, 2016 6:19 PM}

That worked for me thank you

_{Wednesday, August 17, 2016 5:48 AM}

Thanks! This worked for me.

_{Wednesday, August 17, 2016 2:07 PM}

Richard:  You deserve all those points.  This was easy to find with your direction.  I moved the "linkCreation.dotm" file and my problem also appears to be solved!  Thank you!

_{Sunday, August 21, 2016 2:19 AM}

It worked perfectly for me.

Thanks Very Much.

Regards

M

_{Monday, August 22, 2016 3:26 AM}

Thank you Richard. Worked perfectly. Remove that file and you're away. Mac OS 10.11.12  Word 15.17.1.

_{Monday, August 22, 2016 6:37 PM}

Removing linkCreation.dotm worked for me! Thanks for sharing the answer.

_{Tuesday, August 23, 2016 1:26 AM}

This worked for me too - thanks

_{Wednesday, August 24, 2016 8:43 AM}

I remove a file (linkCreation.dotm) folder (~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User Content/Startup/Word/) and the problem was solved

_{Wednesday, August 24, 2016 11:23 PM}

Thankyou for sharing the answer Richard, this worked for me!

_{Thursday, August 25, 2016 6:55 PM}

I had the same problem with Word version 15.25.  

I performed the same action as Richard Hallas.  It worked for me.  I've moved the file linkCreation.dotm out of the folder (onto my desktop for now) and the application is back to normal functionality.  The problem started with I updated yesterday with microsoft's autoupdated.  As stated elsewhere in these posts, thanks Microsoft for taking something that was working and breaking it.  I only lost about an hour of my time today fixing it.

In any event, it seems to be working now.  Do I dare delete the file from my desktop?

_{Friday, August 26, 2016 12:28 PM}

I did a search for the file using spotlight, found it easily, moved it to my desktop.  I couldn't find it using the long address.

BUT I still can't shut down word.  I keep getting the error message.  How do I shut down?

_{Sunday, August 28, 2016 12:30 PM}

This worked for me, as well! The sudden appearance of that crazy problem was driving me nuts. THANK YOU!

Patrick

_{Tuesday, August 30, 2016 3:21 AM}

This worked for me as well on 8-29-16. Brilliant! Fyi, I moved the "linkCreation.dotm" file from the "Word" folder to the folder immediately above it, the "Startup" folder in Richard's post above. Thanks again!

_{Tuesday, August 30, 2016 2:39 PM}

Thank you. Solved. It helped me. I used the SPOTLIGHT, simply found the file: linkcreation.dotm and deleted it. Now Word works fine.

_{Tuesday, August 30, 2016 5:34 PM}

M Fish & Richard Hallas,

Thank you for the great answers. I was stuck on the path until M Fish showed the easiest way to access the location.

Works 100% - Great Job!

_{Wednesday, August 31, 2016 2:46 AM}

I did a search for the file using spotlight, found it easily, moved it to my desktop.  I couldn't find it using the long address.

BUT I still can't shut down word.  I keep getting the error message.  How do I shut down?

I have the same problem here..even i deleted the file, the error message is still on my screen after I OK it. What worse is that i can't open any other word doc. because of the error message on the screen. how do i do now? thank you.

_{Wednesday, August 31, 2016 3:07 AM}

Thank you for your solution. i deleted the file but the error message is still on my screen.I can't close it by click OK and because of this i can't open any word doc. further. I tried to restart my Mac after deleting it, then it didn't let me, saying i have to quit word first. Now i'm stuck-- don't know what to do.... Man I get your suggestion? Thank you!

_{Wednesday, August 31, 2016 1:23 PM}

Thank you for posting this explanation. I was getting this annoying error, and it is now resolved thanks to you. 

_{Thursday, September 1, 2016 12:59 AM}

Worked perfectly - thank you!!

_{Wednesday, September 7, 2016 5:22 PM}

Cheers! Works like a champ!

_{Wednesday, September 7, 2016 7:44 PM}

Thank you!

_{Wednesday, September 7, 2016 8:03 PM}

Thanks.

I got it.

_{Thursday, September 8, 2016 1:35 AM}

I HAVE THE ANSWER!

Well, this worked for me, anyway.

...snip...

So basically, the path that Steve Fan should have quoted is as follows:

~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User Content/Startup/Word/

I.e. start tunnelling down from your home folder (~), not the root of the startup disk.

Inside the above Word folder I found a new file (dated 30 Jun 16) called "linkCreation.dotm". Promising, I thought, given the 'link' reference in the name and in the error message.

... snip ...

For what it's worth, I also had another file called "Bookends.dot" in the above folder alongside the problem file. I left that in place, and it isn't causing a problem.

Hope that helps someone else…

Indeed, that was a great help! I did find the file as mentioned here. Anyway, I wonder what it was all about? I mean that 'link' file? What purpose it supposed to serve?

_{Thursday, September 8, 2016 3:14 PM}

Brilliant!, thanks Richard.  I have been trying to fix that tedious little problem for ages.  Much appreciated

Philip

_{Friday, September 9, 2016 6:39 PM}

It Worked!

THANKS Richard. Would be great if Microsoft actually fixed the bug, but your solution worked great.

_{Monday, September 12, 2016 10:11 AM}

Thanks for the extra pointer using the "Go to folder" option.  I had deleted the link creation file but was still having the problem.  I couldn't see the "Group Containers" as I guess it is a system folder and hidden by default.  Using "Go to folder" I was able to see the folder contents.  I still had "Mendeley-word2016-1.16-dev2.dot" in there.  I deleted that (as I don't use the Mendele add-in any more) and it fixed it.

Thanks to everyone for the help.

_{Monday, September 12, 2016 12:23 PM}

Worked well, for me. 

_{Monday, September 12, 2016 3:06 PM}

THANK YOU !!! IT WORKED FINE !!!

_{Tuesday, September 13, 2016 3:16 PM}

This worked!!!! Thank you so much!

_{Tuesday, September 13, 2016 5:14 PM}

Richard Hallas... you are awesome! Instantly fixed, thanks!!!

_{Wednesday, September 14, 2016 12:58 PM}

I am confirming this worked for me as well.  This error persisted after several Office updates that I hoped would solve the problem.  All it took was manually deleting this single file. ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User Content/Startup/Word/linkCreation.dotm

Thanks for posting this fix.

_{Wednesday, September 14, 2016 4:13 PM}

Amazing Richard! It did work for me. Thanks a lot!

_{Thursday, September 15, 2016 5:54 AM}

M Fish: thanks for the additional info. Got to the folder, deleted the linkCreation.dotm file which solved the problem. And thanks Richard!

_{Friday, September 16, 2016 2:26 PM}

I did find the "linkCreation.dotm" file in Applications/Office/Startup/Word

When I moved this out of the folder, I still had the error.

I couldn't find the location you mentioned but searched my computer for the linkCreation.dotm file and found the location. It worked when I moved it out of the folder. Thank you!

_{Friday, September 16, 2016 10:24 PM}

You're a lifesaver. Just deleted this file and the problem is solved. Thank you!

_{Saturday, September 17, 2016 5:18 AM}

I just used your directions and removed the "linkCreation.dotm" and it worked great. Thank you!!!!!

_{Monday, September 19, 2016 9:46 PM}

You are awesome!!

_{Thursday, September 22, 2016 8:30 PM}

Worked like a champ! Thanks!!

_{Friday, September 23, 2016 7:31 PM}

You are a genius! Worked perfectly! Thank you for making it so simplel I hate microsoft. 

_{Monday, September 26, 2016 12:19 AM}

Richard,

This problem recently popped up for me and your fix worked. Thanks so much!

What is that "linkCreation.dotm" file for anyway?

_{Monday, September 26, 2016 10:02 PM}

Hi I was wondering if you have found a solution? I did exactly what was told in previous talks but I still get the same problem. Please help me

_{Tuesday, September 27, 2016 4:14 AM}

I HAVE THE ANSWER!

Well, this worked for me, anyway.

Since I updated to Word version 15.24 recently, when I either start up or quit Word, I get the error describe: "compiler error in hidden module: link".

The reply given above by Steve Fan is what led me to find the solution, but didn't work in itself. The path describe above simply doesn't lead to the described content. However, having previously found (with great difficulty) Outlook's new location for storing its email database, I had a clue where to start looking.

So basically, the path that Steve Fan should have quoted is as follows:

~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User Content/Startup/Word/

I.e. start tunnelling down from your home folder (~), not the root of the startup disk.

Inside the above Word folder I found a new file (dated 30 Jun 16) called "linkCreation.dotm". Promising, I thought, given the 'link' reference in the name and in the error message.

I moved this file out of the folder and tried loading and quitting Word again. This time it worked fine, without the error message. Solved!

For what it's worth, I also had another file called "Bookends.dot" in the above folder alongside the problem file. I left that in place, and it isn't causing a problem.

Hope that helps someone else…

Work for me too.

Thanks!!!!

_{Tuesday, September 27, 2016 5:45 PM}

Freaking awesome solution. Worked perfectly. Also, SUPER annoying that this is even a thing.

_{Friday, September 30, 2016 9:47 PM}

Thanks Richard, you guided me correctly through the maze, and your solution worked!

_{Saturday, October 1, 2016 5:42 PM}

Oh, wow! Thank you co much Richard. I'm still puzzled by the fact that Microsoft did nothing to fix this issue for  MAC users until now. 

_{Wednesday, October 5, 2016 2:48 PM}

Thank you... solved my same problem.

_{Wednesday, October 5, 2016 5:07 PM}

That worked! thanks! 

_{Thursday, October 6, 2016 5:44 PM}

That is the answer. Thanks!

_{Wednesday, October 12, 2016 12:16 AM}

Maybe due to a preference change or another update, but after having used this answer as the solution it cropped up again at ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User Content.localized/Startup.localized/Word

_{Thursday, October 13, 2016 9:01 AM}

This worked for me, thank you very much.

_{Saturday, October 22, 2016 3:49 PM}

Thanks for this information.  When I tried to drag linkCreation.dotm to another location I was not able to move it.

Suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

_{Sunday, October 23, 2016 6:30 AM}

Hi Steve,

Just wondering why I have to do this - is it s glitch with microsoft products on some Macs? My Mac at work doesn't have this issue. BTW I have the latest MacBook Pro.

Cheers,

_{Tuesday, October 25, 2016 6:33 PM}

This worked for me! Thank you!

_{Friday, October 28, 2016 11:38 AM}

Thank you!!!
It worked!!!!!

_{Friday, October 28, 2016 7:01 PM}

THANK YOU!

_{Monday, October 31, 2016 12:18 AM}

that worked for me. Now that I have moved the file out of the folder, can I delete it?

Thanks

_{Monday, October 31, 2016 12:09 PM}

This worked for me, thanks!

_{Tuesday, November 1, 2016 1:19 AM}

Thank you very much. I wish somehow the reply can be pinned to the top of the thread. I made an account just so I can vote for this explanation!

_{Wednesday, November 2, 2016 6:13 PM}

Thanks Richard. I simply searched for "linkCreation.dotm" in spotlight and found it in the Word folder. After deletion everything worked fine.

_{Wednesday, November 2, 2016 6:57 PM}

Fixed the problem!  Thanks

_{Wednesday, November 2, 2016 8:15 PM}

I have this problem as well on my mac.  I've removed the files referenced below and it still happens and it takes forever to even launch the programs.  It's ridiculous.  I also have tremendous problems with Outlook and email.  It constantly asks for passwords and rejects my passwords even though it's the right password.  I'm thoroughly tired of having to "fix" these problems.  Do you have any words to help resolve these issues I am having with Office 365 and the Mac?

Thanks.

Not so pleased.

Cheryl

_{Wednesday, November 2, 2016 8:17 PM}

Also, once it launches and I can work in the program, it shuts down.  For instance, when I'm editing in ppt, it will just drop out and relaunch.  Now that's super frustrating and annoying because there's a lot of work going into a ppt and suddenly it just fails.  Again, I default back to my PC systems to edit, but I can't always do that.  Oh, and one more thing, it seems to ONLY do this on my iMac, not my laptops.

Thanks

Cheryl

_{Wednesday, November 2, 2016 8:20 PM}

One more thing, it does it when I close the programs as well.

_{Friday, November 4, 2016 6:05 PM}

Thank you!  It worked for me, I no longer receive the error message!

_{Monday, November 7, 2016 6:13 AM}

Hi worked perfectly, just copy/pasted file name in your post into search in finder, found it straight away, sent to trash...no issues, cheers Richard.

_{Thursday, November 10, 2016 11:59 AM | 1 vote}

Why is this happening repeatedly?

_{Monday, November 14, 2016 12:21 PM}

I HAVE THE ANSWER!

Well, this worked for me, anyway.

Since I updated to Word version 15.24 recently, when I either start up or quit Word, I get the error describe: "compiler error in hidden module: link".

The reply given above by Steve Fan is what led me to find the solution, but didn't work in itself. The path describe above simply doesn't lead to the described content. However, having previously found (with great difficulty) Outlook's new location for storing its email database, I had a clue where to start looking.

So basically, the path that Steve Fan should have quoted is as follows:

~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User Content/Startup/Word/

I.e. start tunnelling down from your home folder (~), not the root of the startup disk.

Inside the above Word folder I found a new file (dated 30 Jun 16) called "linkCreation.dotm". Promising, I thought, given the 'link' reference in the name and in the error message.

I moved this file out of the folder and tried loading and quitting Word again. This time it worked fine, without the error message. Solved!

For what it's worth, I also had another file called "Bookends.dot" in the above folder alongside the problem file. I left that in place, and it isn't causing a problem.

Hope that helps someone else…

The folder library located in home folder is hidden by default, so you need:

- a secondary click in home folder

- choose Show view options

- select Show library folder

Now you'll be able to see the folder and follow Richard and Steve steps.

_{Tuesday, November 15, 2016 4:56 PM}

Hi,

I had the same issue, and when I looked at the startup file I found a file.dotm for add-in program I used called Mendeley. I have just updated Mendeley and it works find, no more massages appears.

_{Thursday, November 17, 2016 4:54 PM}

Thank you for helping me fix this annoying problem!!!!  Very much appreciated!

_{Friday, November 18, 2016 3:36 PM}

In Word:

1. Open Tools>Templates and Add-ins, click on linkCreation.dotm and make a note of the path to the file.
2. Close Word.
3. Hold down the Alt key while clicking on the Go menu and choosing Library. Your user Library folder opens.
4. Navigate to the path you wrote down and drag linkCreation.dotm to your desktop.

_{Friday, November 18, 2016 3:37 PM}

In Word:

1. Open Tools>Templates and Add-ins, click on linkCreation.dotm and make a note of the path to the file.
2. Close Word.
3. Hold down the Alt key while clicking on the Go menu and choosing Library. Your user Library folder opens.
4. Navigate to the path you wrote down and drag linkCreation.dotm to your desktop.

_{Saturday, November 19, 2016 1:25 AM}

I HAVE THE ANSWER!

Well, this worked for me, anyway.

Since I updated to Word version 15.24 recently, when I either start up or quit Word, I get the error describe: "compiler error in hidden module: link".

The reply given above by Steve Fan is what led me to find the solution, but didn't work in itself. The path describe above simply doesn't lead to the described content. However, having previously found (with great difficulty) Outlook's new location for storing its email database, I had a clue where to start looking.

So basically, the path that Steve Fan should have quoted is as follows:

~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User Content/Startup/Word/

I.e. start tunnelling down from your home folder (~), not the root of the startup disk.

Inside the above Word folder I found a new file (dated 30 Jun 16) called "linkCreation.dotm". Promising, I thought, given the 'link' reference in the name and in the error message.

I moved this file out of the folder and tried loading and quitting Word again. This time it worked fine, without the error message. Solved!

For what it's worth, I also had another file called "Bookends.dot" in the above folder alongside the problem file. I left that in place, and it isn't causing a problem.

Hope that helps someone else…

Thank you! It worked for me as well! I had 3 of these files, found them with Spotsearch, deleted all. Problem disappeared.

_{Wednesday, November 23, 2016 6:39 AM}

Find: linkCreation.dotm

Delete

Success

_{Friday, November 25, 2016 4:09 AM}

This helped perfectly! I searched for the document titled "linkCreation.dotm" in my Finder and moved it to the trash and then emptied my trash. Then, I quit Word and when i re-opened it again, the problem was solved! THANK YOU!

_{Tuesday, December 6, 2016 6:56 PM}

For me the folder had .localized on them. I went in terminal and used

rm  ~/Library/Group\ Containers/UBT346G9.Office/User\ Content.localized/Startup.localized/Word/linkCreation.dotm

Worked like a charm. Thanks

_{Thursday, December 15, 2016 5:00 PM}

Thank you, Richard.  This worked for me as well!

_{Monday, December 19, 2016 10:07 AM}

Thanks ! Worked for me :)

_{Saturday, December 24, 2016 3:35 PM}

Thank you Richard. I had to do a find to get to the folder "Group Containers" and then click on that to get to the path.  When I would look into my home account the Library wouldn't show up.  And when I looked in the main Library folder "Group Containers" wouldn't show up.  When I did a search in the finder it came up.  I click on the icon and it lead me to the path.  Works great.  Happy Holidays!!

_{Monday, January 2, 2017 10:54 AM}

Thank you very much for documenting the fix for this! I was tired of dealing with that error message.  Your solution worked! 

_{Monday, January 9, 2017 7:49 PM}

Worked perfectly. Took a while to work out how to find that folder, but someone else posted a solution thankfully!

_{Thursday, January 12, 2017 4:32 PM}

Richard, thank you so much for your post! Worked for me. The annoying error message at start and close of Word is gone!

One recommendation: **search your mac for file *****linkCreation.dotm ***

I was having hard time finding the group containers file - I guess it is hidden on my mac. however, searching for actual flie name worked beautifully.

thanks again.

_{Wednesday, January 25, 2017 7:14 PM}

Thank you thank you thank you!!

_{Sunday, February 12, 2017 9:55 AM}

As a Dutch user, I had to translate the '/User Content/Startup/Word/' part. But you earned my 5 points as well

_{Thursday, March 16, 2017 5:30 AM}

Thank you.  That worked for me too.

_{Thursday, March 30, 2017 9:22 AM}

Thanks, this is still working in 2017, although I do have to repeat the process after each upgrade  

Pity Microsoft haven't fixed it yet

_{Monday, May 8, 2017 12:52 PM}

Worked for me.

Went in finder typed "linkCreation.dotm" in search. Trashed it. loaded Word again and the error message was gone.

Thanks.

_{Sunday, July 16, 2017 8:43 PM}

Thank you Richard, even a year after your post you are still helping people. The fix worked for me.

_{Sunday, July 16, 2017 8:45 PM}

I already thanked Richard, but without your guide into Finder, I would not have known where to look. Both of you helped and I an grateful.

_{Thursday, August 3, 2017 4:38 PM}

You sir, are a genius. And I thank you!!! Totally fixed the issue for me as well. 

_{Tuesday, August 29, 2017 8:01 PM}

Thanks 

Worked a treat

_{Wednesday, August 30, 2017 4:47 AM}

Trashing the linkCreation.dotm worked for me

_{Saturday, September 16, 2017 11:11 AM}

Works!

I search for the folder: UBF8T346G9.Office/User Content/Startup/Word/

then removed the linkCreation.dotm

_{Monday, September 25, 2017 11:37 PM}

This one worked for me - thanks!

_{Wednesday, October 18, 2017 3:55 AM}

thanks man its really working 

_{Tuesday, February 20, 2018 9:53 AM}

helpful! thanks!

_{Wednesday, February 28, 2018 10:20 AM}

That was GREAT....Thanks man 

_{Sunday, March 4, 2018 7:38 PM}

This works, Richard Hallis!  Thanks, buddy!

_{Tuesday, March 13, 2018 12:33 AM}

My problem solved! Thx for your solution

_{Saturday, October 13, 2018 9:56 AM}

Hi.

Thanks for the tip. Works for me too. Remove also the ~\nkCreation.dotm file.

Folder for me is "~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User Content.localized/Startup.localized/Word"

Best,

Richard