A new software incompatibility is causing headaches for users attempting to launch **Microsoft Office** applications from within third-party software. **Microsoft** has confirmed it is actively investigating reports of an issue where **Word**, **Excel**, **PowerPoint**, **Access**, and other Office applications fail to open when initiated by affected third-party programs. ### Impact of Recent Windows Updates According to **Microsoft**'s advisories, the problem stems from **Windows** updates deployed on or after June 9, 2026. These updates appear to interfere with how certain third-party applications utilize **OLE automation** to interact with Office suites. In many reported cases, the Office application or document simply fails to launch, often without displaying any error message, leaving users in the dark about the root cause.  ### Affected Applications and Workarounds User reports indicate that a range of third-party applications are impacted. Notable examples include **CCH Engagement**, **Zotero**, **Workpaper Manager**, and various dental software solutions such as **Dentrix** and **Softdent**. While **Microsoft** engineers work on a permanent fix, the company has offered a temporary workaround: users should open Office applications or documents directly, bypassing the third-party application launch mechanism. For enterprise clients, **Microsoft Support for Business** can provide a separate, organization-wide workaround. **Microsoft** has stated that a resolution is in progress and will be delivered in a future **Windows** update, with more details to be shared as they become available. ### A Pattern of Recent Fixes This isn't the first time **Microsoft** has had to address post-update issues. In recent months, the company resolved problems that prevented **Office for the web** users from opening **Excel** and **PowerPoint** files, and another that blocked **Windows 365** users from installing the Office suite. More recently, **Microsoft** fixed a known issue causing **Windows** updates released since May 2025 to fail when installed via the **Windows Update Standalone Installer (WUSA)**, and a bug that caused **Windows Server 2025** devices to boot into **BitLocker** recovery after the April 2026 security update.