Word error: Word experienced an error trying to open the file

This is the most generic Word error, with multiple possible causes, and will leave you unable to open the Word file. If you are greeted with the following error message, use this guide to debug and resolve the error:

The first thing to check is to validate your project. Any errors that come up during project validation may be the cause of this generic Word error. Missing or empty fields (especially inside tables), missing document properties, and malformed screenshots can all cause this error.

What tool output, if any, did you upload into this project? This error is either due to the report template or the Dradis project, and there are a few potential tool-specific formatting issues worth checking for. Code, pseudocode, or hashes that is not wrapped within code blocks is a very common cause. Certain HTML or XML tags that have been imported in tool uploads and not properly escaped or wrapped in code blocks can also cause the error, for example if an errant <pre> has slipped in somewhere. It's worth doing a spot check of the content in your project (Content Blocks, Issues, Evidence) to see if any of it contains unwrapped code.

Take a look at the qualified name error guide as well. Multiple instances of the error in a single report can cause this more generic error message. Similar to the above, the qualified name error is almost always caused by errant exclamation points that aren't enclosed in a code block in your project.

Take a look at your report template. Malformed content controls, multi-paragraph content in content controls missing the Crazy Triangles™, document properties in text boxes, and more can all cause this error. If in doubt, reach out to our Support team with a copy of your report template, and we'll be happy to take a look!