Unable to Double-click open or Rename some files

2 (and maybe 1) - Control (right) - click one of the problem files and select Get Info from the contextual menu. In the Info pane go to the Open With section and select the app that should be used if it is different.

What are the read and write permissions for the folder(s) that these files are located in? And for your Home folder?

Give this a try: boot into Safe Mode according to How to use safe mode on your Mac and test to see if the problem persists. Reboot normally and test again.

NOTE: Safe Mode boot can take up to 3 - 5 minutes as it's doing the following; 

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts 

• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files

vschmidt wrote:

I am having the exact problem described in this post from 2020 (my system is Monterrey OS-X 12.4):

Cannot rename file - Apple Community1.

in which some files cannot be double-click opened or renamed in Finder.

This except, from a post in that thread, describes the problem well:

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I did some test on the files. Some discoveries:

The file(tg01.docx) shows a blank icon, but the preview window and quicklook can display its content correctly.

2. It cannot be opened by double-click in Finder, but can be opened by right-click and open with the default app.

3. When you right-click the file, there's no rename option appeared in the menu.

4. If you select that file and press Enter, nothing happens but a sound indicate there's an error.

That file will also have trouble syncing with iCloud Drive1. .

2. If you choose "get info" in the file menu, the area "Name & Extension" is grey (readonly), and cannot be modified.

3. If you choose "duplicate" in the file menu, the new file duplicated has the same problem as the original one.

4. When some app changed that file (not save as & overwrite), it still has this problem.

5. The file remains such state even after I emptied the content (like tg02.docx).

6. I cannot find any difference between the two files in Terminal. Here's some commands I've tried:

diff tg01.docx tg03.docx

md5 tg01.docx tg03.docx

ls -la

ls -l@

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Clearly, there is no bit for bit difference in the working and non-working files and no difference in their file system permissions, and yet the problem persists, leaving one to believe it is a bug in the operating system.

Does anyone know of a fix to stop this from occurring?

Thanks.

Verify your third party software is up to date and current...

if in doubt search the developers website or contact: Support/Help/FAQ/Known issues/compatibility/Updates

Microsoft Corporation/Customer service

1 (800) 642-7676

Microsoft support is very responsive and helpful.

https://support.microsoft.com

Ask the Microsoft Community

https://answers.microsoft.com/

I do not know what is " iCloud Drive1"... is this OneDrive(?) this would be third party(?)

if Apple's iCloud ref: iCloud User Guide - Apple Support