SPReview.exe is a legitimate exe file, part of Microsoft Word, and should usually not be removed.
If you’re using Word for Windows and have a document that users can amend, you may have noticed SPReview.exe running in the background.
What is it for and should you remove it? Read on to find out more about this mysterious process that may be preventing your Word from launching sometimes.
Read further to know more about the SPReview.exe process and why you should not delete or remove it from your computer.
What Is the SPReview.exe Process?
SPReview.exe is an exe file that runs the SPReview process that runs in the background while you are working on a document in Word.
It is used to track changes made to the document, and allows multiple users to interact with the same document at the same time. When multiple users work on the same Word document, the editing history can get very confusing.
SPReview.exe allows you to view a log of changes and keep track of who made what change, when they made it, and even how they made it. SPReview.exe also allows users to perform a “co-editing” function with other users while they’re working on a document.
This function is only available in Word 2010 and above.
Why Is SPReview.exe Running in the Background?
When you are working on a document on your computer, and you are collaborating with other users, the SPReview process is running in the background.
This process will save your work and track your progress. When you alter a document, the SPReview.exe process will track your changes and save them as an additional version, in addition to the version that was saved by the original author.
How to Fix SPReview Stuck Problem
If you are getting an error message while opening your document, it could be because the SPReview.exe process has become stuck.
This is a very common issue and can be easily fixed by following these steps:
- Close all the open documents in Word
- Open Windows Task Manager and kill the process named SPReview.exe
- Re-open your documents and this should solve the issue.
Should You Remove SPReview.exe?
The short answer is no.
SPReview is not a virus or malicious process. It is a legitimate process that is used to track changes made to Word documents while they are being edited by multiple users.
Because this process runs in the background and will not show up in the task manager, you may think that it is causing a problem. You might be tempted to remove it, but this is not recommended.
The SPReview process does not have any configuration settings in the registry. It only takes up a few megabytes of RAM and uses very little system resources.
As such, it is completely safe to leave it running in the background.
Conclusion
The SPReview.exe process is used to track changes made to documents when multiple users are working on them.
This process runs in the background and is not a malicious process, so there is no need to remove it. It is important that you do not attempt to remove this process manually.
Doing so will result in the loss of document tracking and co-editing capabilities.