Microsoft Word, Powerpoint or Excel encountered a problem and needs to close

Problem

When you open an Office application on your Mac it says “[Application] encountered a problem and needs to close”.

Solution

1. Go to your Home folder.
2. Go to the Library folder.
3. Go to the Preferences folder.
4. Remove all files with the name com.microsoft.ProgramName.plist
   For example:
   com.microsoft.Word.plist
   com.microsoft.Excel.plist
   com.microsoft.Powerpoint.plist
   com.microsoft.Entourage.plist
5. Go to the Microsoft folder inside Preferences.
6. Move the Office 2008 folder to the Trash and try opening an Office program again.