# Can't open a .doc file with Word 2007



## carfin

Hi,

I have installed Microsoft Office 2007 on my Laptop running Vista Home Premium. When I *double click *a Word document with the extension *.doc *it opens with Wordpad and is not readable.

I have tried *right clicking *the .doc file and choosing *open with*. The problem is that Word 2007 does not appear in the open with dialogue box.

I then try *open with *and select *browse*. I find winword.exe and select it but it doesn't 'stick'.

I can open a .doc file by opening Word 2007 first then selecting *open *and browsing for the .doc file. That to me is a long winded way to open the file. I just want to *double click* as I've always done in older versions of Word. Can you help?

Thanks Gavin


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## slurpee55

In WordPad you should be able to read older Word .doc without gibberish - if you see something like ÐÏà¡±á >  þÿ   p  r  þÿÿÿ o ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ
Then maybe you are getting them opened in NotePad? (Note, I don't have 07, so I don't know what the default settings are).
However, just go open a folder, go to tools, folder options, file types and go to the group starting with DOC (through something like DOCHTML) - they should all be set to open with Microsoft Word 2007. If they are not, click on Change and select Word as the program to open them.


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## carfin

Hi there,

I have tried what you said with regards to folder options and default programs. It doesn't allow .doc files to be changed to open with winword.exe

It allows it to be changed to almost anything else other than that!

You are correct about the notepad/wordpad thing but I want them to open with word.

Gavin


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## slurpee55

Check this out: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HA101749091033.aspx
Maybe something there...


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## carfin

Hi,

I so wish it was as easy as that! 

I have tried that procedure but the word 2007 is not in the list of programs to *open with*. There is the option of manually assigning a program but when Word 2007 is selected, the minute I click ok nothing happens.

I can assign Word 2007 to open other types of files but just not the .doc file! It's crazy.

I see from searching google that many others have the same problem but I've yet to find a solution.

Gavin


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## slurpee55

Maybe a bit different from what I wrote before:
In My Computer or Windows Explorer, click the Tools menu, click Folder Options, and then click the File Types tab. 
In the Registered file types list, click the file type you want to open with a different program, and then click Change. 
In the Open With dialog box, select the program you want to use, and then click OK. 
Click OK in the Folder Options dialog box.


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## carfin

Hi,

That process you explained is how file associations are changed in Windows XP. I am using vista. *Folder options *doesn't exist anymore. That is the 'old' way of doing things.

Do you have vista?

Thanks,

Gavin


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## kiwiguy

In Vista, go to Control Panel - Default Programs

It is all done from there now.


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## Jack1000

Guys,

Although older MS Office documents are designed to open OK with the new Office 2007, there may be some problems with older documents and file formats that the user who posted above was having difficulty opening and reading.

Consider downloading and installing the MS Office 2007 Converter Package. This will help your computer read older Office files created in older versions of Office (97-2003) if you are using Office 2007:

Here is the file to download:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...70-3AE9-4AEE-8F43-C6BB74CD1466&displaylang=en

IMPORTANT: BEFORE DOWNLOADING THIS UPGRADE, YOU MUST VISIT MICROSOFT UPDATE AND INSURE THAT ALL CRITICAL SECURITY PATCHES ARE INSTALLED FIRST FOR THIS PATCH TO WORK. Go to Microsoft update main site:

http://update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate/v6/default.aspx?ln=en-us and get the updates. If you are updating for the first time, or haven't done so for a long time, you may be asked to install a small plug in so that the update information can run on your computer. Go ahead and get the plug-in. If you are still just doing Windows Update, note that you will be prompted to update to Microsoft Update. By following the steps at the site, you will get your Windows Updates and updates for Office and other MS programs in the same step. Users with supported versions of Office (Office XP-2003) should do this. Users with Office 2007, and ESPECIALLY WINDOWS VISTA USERS WITH OFFICE 2007 MUST DO THIS FOR THIS PATCH TO WORK PROPERLY.

Eventually, it is hoped that MS will release an update to Vista or a Service Patch for Office 2007 so that this converter will be automatically included in future releases of Office 2007, but if you can't open older Office documents and are running Office 2007, visit Microsoft Update, install ALL Patches and than get the file converter for Office 2007 indicated above.

It is also hoped that MS will address this issue in future Office 2007 updates, but for now, IF YOU ARE USING OFFICE 2007 AND ARE SENDING ANY OFFICE DOCUMENTS TO OTHER PEOPLE WHO DO NOT HAVE OFFICE 2007 INSTALLED SAVE THE FILE AS A SAVE AS A DOCUMENT CREATED IN OFFICE 97-2003 FORMAT. (Instead of Save) This changes to the conventional format of doc. that older versions can understand. Office 2007 I understand has a new file format when you do a conventional Save, that saves the file as docx, which older versions of Office may have trouble reading. To override this issue, when sending documents to other people, do a Save As and save the document in Doc format.

Jack


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## kiwiguy

The fact that the original poster can open the file OK if opening it within Word 2007 suggests that old (version 6) files may not be involved though?


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## slurpee55

carfin said:


> Hi,
> 
> That process you explained is how file associations are changed in Windows XP. I am using vista. *Folder options *doesn't exist anymore. That is the 'old' way of doing things.
> 
> Do you have vista?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Gavin


True, but the link I gave in post #4 DID explain how to do so in Vista.
And as KiwiGuy says, since he is able to open things up in a round about way, why not just by clicking? Seems to strictly be an association problem.


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## carfin

Hi,

Thanks for the info. I did as you said. Updates were fully up to date and I then installed the compatibilty pack. Same thing. I just cannot double click a .doc icon and have word open it.

All the other posts regarding file associations etc just don't work. It won't allow winword.exe or WORD 2007 to be set as the default program for these files.

I think the compatability program is actuaklly more suited for Word 97 - 2003 users to allow them to open the new .docx files created in Word 2007.


I am so frustrated with this. it is so long winded to open Word 2007 then try and open the .doc file from there! arrrgh!

Gavin


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## slurpee55

Okay, just to lay things out again. You probably know this all, but it make things clearer for me, and some things are just to sum up what has already been said.
1. The file(s) you cannot open by clicking on them were created in an earlier version of Word and do have a .doc extension (not .txt or .docx or .dot or .wpd or any other thing) 
2. You are able to open other types of files or .docx files by just clicking on them (this is something you can adjust in Windows, so just to make sure you are set to do so).
3. You can open Word 2007, browse to the file and open it by selecting it. In the browse window, you have it set to show what - all Word documents, all files, all .doc....?
4. For some reason, when you have tried to set the file association to Word 2007, you cannot.
A question I now have is, do you still have another version of Word (say, 2003) on your computer?


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## carfin

slurpee55 said:


> Okay, just to lay things out again. You probably know this all, but it make things clearer for me, and some things are just to sum up what has already been said.
> 1. The file(s) you cannot open by clicking on them were created in an earlier version of Word and do have a .doc extension (not .txt or .docx or .dot or .wpd or any other thing)
> 2. You are able to open other types of files or .docx files by just clicking on them (this is something you can adjust in Windows, so just to make sure you are set to do so).
> 3. You can open Word 2007, browse to the file and open it by selecting it. In the browse window, you have it set to show what - all Word documents, all files, all .doc....?
> 4. For some reason, when you have tried to set the file association to Word 2007, you cannot.
> A question I now have is, do you still have another version of Word (say, 2003) on your computer?


Hi,

1. Correct - extension is .doc
2. Correct
3. Correct - and is set to open all word documents
4. Correct

I don't have the old office program on my pc now. When Office 2007 is installed, it upgrades the old office and removes it.

When I open Word 2007 and browse for the old .doc files, they open with no problem and it states at the top of the page 'compatability mode' as it does recognise that it is from the older Word 2003 program.

I really am at a loss!

Gavin


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## Jack1000

carfin said:


> Hi,
> 
> 1. Correct - extension is .doc
> 2. Correct
> 3. Correct - and is set to open all word documents
> 4. Correct
> 
> I don't have the old office program on my pc now. When Office 2007 is installed, it upgrades the old office and removes it.
> 
> When I open Word 2007 and browse for the old .doc files, they open with no problem and it states at the top of the page 'compatability mode' as it does recognise that it is from the older Word 2003 program.
> 
> I really am at a loss!
> 
> Gavin


What about Add/Remove programs? It you go to that list, ( I assume it is still called that in Vista, do you see any instances of Office 2003 on your system?) Sometimes the program says that it removes older versions when it updates, but often it does not.

What version of Office 2007 is this? Within this version is it an upgrade or a stand-alone?

Jack


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## slurpee55

Yes, the compatibility mode is a somewhat less than full version - there are some things you can't do without converting the old doc to a new docx. I have been all over MS and a number of other forums - however, it would appear you are not alone! One suggestion elsewhere is to grab the Microsoft Office installation CD's then run the Repair function (the uninstaller and the installer should give that option). The Repair function will fix all the file types etc., in a very short amount of time.
If you have CCleaner or some similar program that cleans up old files, uncheck Office from the applications list, just in case it is doing something not right.
Another thing to try. Go to Control Panel and go to Default Programs. In there go to file types, find DOC and click on Advanced, then Open, then Edit. There, in Application used to perform action should be a string that reads something like:
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\WINWORD.EXE" /n /dde 
(note that this is for my non-2007 office, so probably the words just before "\WINWORD..." are different). There is probably a checkbox that says USE DDE and it should be checked (VISTA users, correct me here wherever I am wrong). Finally, there is probably a box that says something like:
[REM _DDE_Direct][FileOpen("%1")]
The next 3 boxes (assuming they are there) probably say WinWord, ""(blank) and System.
Can you do this and tell me if there are any differences?

I doubt if it helps, but some of those with problems are Mac people...


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## Jack1000

slurpee55 said:


> Yes, the compatibility mode is a somewhat less than full version - there are some things you can't do without converting the old doc to a new docx. I have been all over MS and a number of other forums - however, it would appear you are not alone! One suggestion elsewhere is to grab the Microsoft Office installation CD's then run the Repair function (the uninstaller and the installer should give that option). The Repair function will fix all the file types etc., in a very short amount of time.
> If you have CCleaner or some similar program that cleans up old files, uncheck Office from the applications list, just in case it is doing something not right.
> Another thing to try. Go to Control Panel and go to Default Programs. In there go to file types, find DOC and click on Advanced, then Open, then Edit. There, in Application used to perform action should be a string that reads something like:
> "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\WINWORD.EXE" /n /dde
> (note that this is for my non-2007 office, so probably the words just before "\WINWORD..." are different). There is probably a checkbox that says USE DDE and it should be checked (VISTA users, correct me here wherever I am wrong). Finally, there is probably a box that says something like:
> [REM _DDE_Direct][FileOpen("%1")]
> The next 3 boxes (assuming they are there) probably say WinWord, ""(blank) and System.
> Can you do this and tell me if there are any differences?
> 
> I doubt if it helps, but some of those with problems are Mac people...


As I understand,

He wants to be able to open his old Word documents created in earlier versions of Word by going to his My Documents folder and having Word open the document by clicking on the file in his My Documents folder. He shouldn't have to go to Word 2007, click Open, and search for the file, than open it. Very stupid move on Microsoft's part if this is the case. How about the rest of you, can you open a Word Document in Word 2007, regardless of version just by clicking on the file in My Documents?

Jack


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## Jack1000

Jack1000 said:


> As I understand,
> 
> He wants to be able to open his old Word documents created in earlier versions of Word by going to his My Documents folder and having Word open the document by clicking on the file in his My Documents folder. He shouldn't have to go to Word 2007, click Open, and search for the file, than open it. Very stupid move on Microsoft's part if this is the case. How about the rest of you, can you open a Word Document in Word 2007, regardless of version just by clicking on the file in My Documents?
> 
> Jack


What is the EXACT error message that you are getting when you try to open a Word 2007 document, say from the My Documents folder? When I get your response, unless this is solved by than, I am going to ask someone to investigagte this issue further.

Jack


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## carfin

Jack1000 said:


> What is the EXACT error message that you are getting when you try to open a Word 2007 document, say from the My Documents folder? When I get your response, unless this is solved by than, I am going to ask someone to investigagte this issue further.
> 
> Jack


Hi there,

Thanks for your help. There is no error message. It just opens with notepad or wordpad or whatever other program I set it to open with except WORD 2007.

When I try an associate word it just doesn't do anything? I can even set it to open with powerpoint,, excel etc etc even thought they are no good for a WORD document!

I have done the repair thing with the OFFICE 2007 disk. I have uninstalled, re-installed etc but nothing changes.

Surely Microsoft wouldn't do this on purpose? Is it because I am running Vista, I don't know but I'm not computer illiterate and have tried everything I can think of!

Gavin


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## carfin

Jack1000 said:


> What about Add/Remove programs? It you go to that list, ( I assume it is still called that in Vista, do you see any instances of Office 2003 on your system?) Sometimes the program says that it removes older versions when it updates, but often it does not.
> 
> What version of Office 2007 is this? Within this version is it an upgrade or a stand-alone?
> 
> Jack


Hi, It is OFFICE 2007 Enterprise Edition and there are no old versions in the add/remove programs section...

Gavin


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## EBSchrader

I have neither Vista nor Office 07 installed, so my question may be way off base, but does deleting normal.dot work for your setup like it does for XP and Office 03? It might be worth a try, if so.


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## carfin

when i search, normal.dot isn't found? Maybe it,s not called that in this version of word..


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## kiwiguy

In office 2007 it is stored in "Normal.dotm"


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## Jack1000

I got a computer tech who is going to be getting Office 2007 to try to reproduce the error and see if we can work on solutions together. I will keep you posted. I will also keep him posted on this issue. Remember I don't have Office 2007 so I can't join you in working on this. I will however give ideas/suggestions from people who have it.

Regards,

Jack


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## slurpee55

And I wrote to someone I know well who works as tech research for MS and asked him to look at this thread - can't say that he will, but I am pretty much out of ideas - like Jack, I don't have 2007 either.


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## samkatz

Ok, I'm a new poster and have a similar issue
1) VISTA
2) Microsoft Office 2007 installed on C:\Microsoftoffice\ directory (not in programs\...)


The doc file is opening in MS WORKS which came installed on my PC

I get to the set default program window several ways.

THe box says:"choose the program you want to open this file with"....Other program icons are there, under "recommended programs"....not Word 2007.

I go to browse, the appropriate directory, and see the "WINWORD.EXE" program executible. I hit "open". Winword icon never appears in this window,, eg it doesnt stick and I still cant open the file. Note...I can open the file fine if I first open Word2007 and point to the file.

Do I have to save a program under "programs" sub dir to get it to associate w/files? I never had to do that in XP. I don't like putting everything there.

Thank you


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## Jack1000

Also for our own curiosity, Some good questions for Office 2007 Users:

I would like to know if Windows XP users who installed Office 2007 are having this same issue that this thread is discussing. More questions for the panel:

1.) Regardless of whether you have Windows XP or Windows Vista please indicate your OS if you are having this same problem. XP users, are you having this same problem?

2.) Indicating your OS, if how did you GET Office 2007 for your computer? Was it (OEM) preinstalled factory-direct or did you buy it from a store?

3.) How did you install Office 2007? Was there anything strange that happened during the install that you believe might have caused this reaction?

4.) Before you installed Office 2007, did you remove older versions of Office from your computer, or have Office update your version and remove what it said was no longer needed via the installation prompt?

5.) Do you have an updated version of Office 2007 or a full version upgrade? It might help to indicate the version of Office 2007 that you have. Maybe even include the older version of Office that you had.

6.) Office 2007 gives you the option to keep Office 2003 on your system and asks you this, how many of you did that, and how many of you said "No" during the install prompt?

7.) How many of you have gone back to an earlier version of Office by uninstalling 2007, and reinstalling the old version out of frustration with the new version?

Jack


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## EBSchrader

Hey, Carfin! Haven't heard from you lately on your problem. Did you locate normal.dotm and try deleting it? Did it help?


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## samkatz

I had MS Works pre-installed and had installed Office 10 in the programs directory.

I got an academic dvd of Office 2007 and then did an install. It automatically removed most of Office 10 except for a couple help files and a couple .dlls.


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## slurpee55

I asked someone who works for MS to respond, and while they chose not to directly (For reasons of their own) they did send me this. Some may be a rehash of suggestions....

Open control panel, select Classic View on the left side, and then open Default Programs. In there it has 4 options, one of which is "Associate a file type or protocol with a program". open that and it may take a while to load, since it is checking every file extension it has registered and then displays them along with what programs they open with. scroll down to .doc and change it to Word. if that doesnt work, or if word is not an available choice to be changed to, it is disabled and there is another option in the default programs to enable it again. open another control panel window and select default programs again. this time open "program access and computer defaults" and then select the "custom" option. find word on the list, and put a check mark in the "enable" box. then go back to the original associations window and you should be able to select word. if not, close the window and reopen it to refresh the settings and then it should be available.
My reading of it is that you have tried the first half, so you need to enable Word.
Good luck!


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## carfin

slurpee55 said:


> I asked someone who works for MS to respond, and while they chose not to directly (For reasons of their own) they did send me this. Some may be a rehash of suggestions....
> 
> Open control panel, select Classic View on the left side, and then open Default Programs. In there it has 4 options, one of which is "Associate a file type or protocol with a program". open that and it may take a while to load, since it is checking every file extension it has registered and then displays them along with what programs they open with. scroll down to .doc and change it to Word. if that doesnt work, or if word is not an available choice to be changed to, it is disabled and there is another option in the default programs to enable it again. open another control panel window and select default programs again. this time open "program access and computer defaults" and then select the "custom" option. find word on the list, and put a check mark in the "enable" box. then go back to the original associations window and you should be able to select word. if not, close the window and reopen it to refresh the settings and then it should be available.
> My reading of it is that you have tried the first half, so you need to enable Word.
> Good luck!


Hi there,

The "program access and computer defaults" section does not contain word to be able to enable it.

All that is in there is:

Choose a default web browser

Choose a default email program

Choose a default media player

Choose a default instant messaging program

Choose a default virtual machine for java

Sadly it just won't work.

Gavin


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## carfin

samkatz said:


> Ok, I'm a new poster and have a similar issue
> 1) VISTA
> 2) Microsoft Office 2007 installed on C:\Microsoftoffice\ directory (not in programs\...)
> 
> The doc file is opening in MS WORKS which came installed on my PC
> 
> I get to the set default program window several ways.
> 
> THe box says:"choose the program you want to open this file with"....Other program icons are there, under "recommended programs"....not Word 2007.
> 
> I go to browse, the appropriate directory, and see the "WINWORD.EXE" program executible. I hit "open". Winword icon never appears in this window,, eg it doesnt stick and I still cant open the file. Note...I can open the file fine if I first open Word2007 and point to the file.
> 
> Do I have to save a program under "programs" sub dir to get it to associate w/files? I never had to do that in XP. I don't like putting everything there.
> 
> Thank you


Exactly the same problem as me!

Gavin


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## carfin

EBSchrader said:


> Hey, Carfin! Haven't heard from you lately on your problem. Did you locate normal.dotm and try deleting it? Did it help?


Hi,

I can't find this file. Do you know what folder it is in?

Gavin


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## EBSchrader

No, but it is a hidden file in XP and you might have to authorize hidden files in your search for it.


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## carfin

Hi,

i set it to find hidden and system files but it didn't find anything..


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## slurpee55

Gavin, from what I read,it won't just show it. You have to go into the "custom" listings and put Word on there. You are in the Classic View, aren't you? Even in XP, it offered a lot more options than the default view. In XP it has Category View and Classic View - I don't know what it is in Vista.


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## carfin

Hi,

Yes i was in classic view. In the paricular section you are talking about, there is no option to 'add' a default for anything other than I described in my last post. It's totally not the same as xp.


There is definitley something wrong with the using of WORD 2007 as I can double click an old excel spreadsheet with the extension .xls and it opens in compatability mode with EXCEL 2007 with no problems. This program has also changed with the new spreadsheets being saved with the extension being .xlsx

All i want is for WORD 2007 to do the same! ;-(


Gavin


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## samkatz

I've tried all the suggestions here. It all comes back to the same thing. Somehow you have to get to tell "winword.exe" to open the file. No matter how you get there, it doesn't "stick".

Not too rant, but you'd think when we're talking about M.S. operating systems and applications, it would work.


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## slurpee55

Well, sorry, since I don't have Vista or 2007 I can't try and recreate the problem. I've given you all the advice I can.
Good luck.


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## Jack1000

You know Gavin,

If this is making you crazy (and I could see how it could,) do you still have your Office 2003 installation disk? You could if you want to uninstall Office 2007 and than reinstall Office 2003, and that could hopefully get you back to where it was before. IF let's say you go back to 2003 and you have the same problem with opening Word through My Documents, than we have pretty much narrowed this down to an issue with crappy Windows Vista and the strong probability that these new software versions and the Vista OS just aren't ready for prime time.

I am NOT a fun of the "New and Cool" approach to computing. I am from the old school of "If it isn't broken, don't fix it." As I said, I am an exclusive home user, I got Office 97 with the last updates, an Office file converter that goes from Office 97-2003 and Word 2003 Viewer and with these accommodations I have been able to open 99.99% of anything and everything. (I also use Word Perfect 12 because as a writer I like to compare and contrast different word processing programs.) Another computer tech that has been in the business for 25 years is still using Office 2000. He said that it does everything that he needs it to do. These newer editions are over-priced and bloated. Yes, you should have Office 2003 for Vista, but I guess my question is since no one has been able to provide a solution to the annoying problem with Office 2007 or Vista/2007, you might want to ask: How badly do you need Office 2007? What can you do in Office 2007 that you can't do in Office 2003?

I read an article that said that MS is not going to be releasing a service pack for Vista until later this year and who knows when an update for Office 2007 is going to come on board to fix your problem? Maybe going back to your older version of Office might solve your problem.

Jack


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## carfin

Jack1000 said:


> You know Gavin,
> 
> If this is making you crazy (and I could see how it could,) do you still have your Office 2003 installation disk? You could if you want to uninstall Office 2007 and than reinstall Office 2003, and that could hopefully get you back to where it was before. IF let's say you go back to 2003 and you have the same problem with opening Word through My Documents, than we have pretty much narrowed this down to an issue with crappy Windows Vista and the strong probability that these new software versions and the Vista OS just aren't ready for prime time.
> 
> I am NOT a fun of the "New and Cool" approach to computing. I am from the old school of "If it isn't broken, don't fix it." As I said, I am an exclusive home user, I got Office 97 with the last updates, an Office file converter that goes from Office 97-2003 and Word 2003 Viewer and with these accommodations I have been able to open 99.99% of anything and everything. (I also use Word Perfect 12 because as a writer I like to compare and contrast different word processing programs.) Another computer tech that has been in the business for 25 years is still using Office 2000. He said that everything that he needs it to do. These newer editions are over-priced and bloated. Yes, you should have Office 2003 for Vista, but I guess my question is since no one has been able to provide a solution to the annoying problem with Office 2007 or Vista/2007, you might want to ask: How badly do you need Office 2007? What can you do in Office 2007 that you can't do in Office 2003?
> 
> I read an article that said that MS is not going to be releasing a service pack for Vista until later this year and who knows when an update for Office 2007 is going to come on board to fix your problem? Maybe going back to your older version of Office might solve your problem.
> 
> Jack


Hi Jack,

I tend to agree with what you said although I must confess to being a bit of a junkie when it comes to new software/gadgets etc etc. Bill Gates must love me!

However, regardless of whether the old WORD program works or not, the new one SHOULD.

My friend is about to do a clean install of Vista and is going to install WORD 2007 to see if it happens to him. He also has another machine running XP and will also install WORD 2007 on that. I will let you know the results.

Maybe my mistake was to install the old version of office after my Vista installation. Perhaps I should have waitied for the Office 2007 disk and installed that without having an older version. I don't know how that would have helped though since the excel and powerpoints can be opened with a double click of the icon.

Oh well, I thought I would have got the answer here on this forum. If and when I find more out, I'll let you know.

Thanks,

Gavin


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## carfin

samkatz said:


> I've tried all the suggestions here. It all comes back to the same thing. Somehow you have to get to tell "winword.exe" to open the file. No matter how you get there, it doesn't "stick".
> 
> Not too rant, but you'd think when we're talking about M.S. operating systems and applications, it would work.


Hey, If you ever get it working, let me know!!!:up:

Gavin


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## Jack1000

carfin said:


> Hi Jack,
> 
> I tend to agree with what you said although I must confess to being a bit of a junkie when it comes to new software/gadgets etc etc. Bill Gates must love me!
> 
> However, regardless of whether the old WORD program works or not, the new one SHOULD.
> 
> My friend is about to do a clean install of Vista and is going to install WORD 2007 to see if it happens to him. He also has another machine running XP and will also install WORD 2007 on that. I will let you know the results.
> 
> Maybe my mistake was to install the old version of office after my Vista installation. Perhaps I should have waitied for the Office 2007 disk and installed that without having an older version. I don't know how that would have helped though since the excel and powerpoints can be opened with a double click of the icon.
> 
> Oh well, I thought I would have got the answer here on this forum. If and when I find more out, I'll let you know.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Gavin


Gavin,

Maybe you just found out the crux of your problem. Putting the old Office 2003 on the new Vista OS system, and than over-riding it with Office 2007. It seems that Vista might work better with a clean install of either Office 2003 or 2007 but installing one over the other might have created this conflict. It might be like you said, Fresh OS, one version of Office than get whatever updates you need and go with that. Let us know your results!

Jack


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## slurpee55

Even though I said I was out of here, I can't stay away... I think Jack is right here. Try doing a complete removal of Office from your PC - 2007, etc. Clean the registry to make sure there are no remainders of it and make sure you have no file extensions still set to a program you don't have on anymore. Then install Office 2007, all fresh and clean. MAYBE(?!?!) that will work....


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## samkatz

slurpee55 said:


> Well, sorry, since I don't have Vista or 2007 I can't try and recreate the problem. I've given you all the advice I can.
> Good luck.


Slurpee....I'm not blaming you......thanks for all the input. I thought of doing a reininstall but am not up for that....I can open a doc file by going thru the word file menu, and am not a big word user, so I'll live w/it until I find an answer.

sk


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## derekjn

Hey man, I had the EXACT same problem as you, and I finally just fixed it. I hope you are comfortable with your machine, because this fix requires some registry modification. Here is the process:

1. Open regedit. Before you start, it is a good idea to back up your registry by going to File\Export. You can then import this file later should anything adverse happen.

2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts
(there will be entries for every file extension on your computer here).

3. Open the .doc entry, as well as the .docx entry. There will be sub-entries under these named OpenWithList, and OpenWithProgids.

4. Make all entries in the .doc OpenWithList and OpenWithProgids identical to their .docx counterparts. I deleted all of the ones in the .doc entry and recreated them to match the .docx just to be sure.

5. After doing this, your machine will probably still associate .docs with WordPad, but Word 2007 will now show up in the Open With dialogue after you browse for it (I'm sure you know by now that the path is C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\WINWORD.EXE).

Hope this helps!


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## Jack1000

derekjn said:


> Hey man, I had the EXACT same problem as you, and I finally just fixed it. I hope you are comfortable with your machine, because this fix requires some registry modification. Here is the process:
> 
> 1. Open regedit. Before you start, it is a good idea to back up your registry by going to File\Export. You can then import this file later should anything adverse happen.
> 
> 2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts
> (there will be entries for every file extension on your computer here).
> 
> 3. Open the .doc entry, as well as the .docx entry. There will be sub-entries under these named OpenWithList, and OpenWithProgids.
> 
> 4. Make all entries in the .doc OpenWithList and OpenWithProgids identical to their .docx counterparts. I deleted all of the ones in the .doc entry and recreated them to match the .docx just to be sure.
> 
> 5. After doing this, your machine will probably still associate .docs with WordPad, but Word 2007 will now show up in the Open With dialog after you browse for it (I'm sure you know by now that the path is C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\WINWORD.EXE).
> 
> Hope this helps!


However,

It should be noted that one wrong move in changing your Registry could force you to reinstall your OS, and a lot of people may not be comfortable with doing this:

As an alternative, you might want to download C Cleaner from this computer help site: www.savemybutt.com The download page is provided here:

http://savemybutt.com/downloads.html

Follow the promots and instructions carefully. This will remove any unnecessary or unused files from the registry and might be safer than reg-edit. It may take some time. Some of these programs can take a good hour. I haven't used C Cleaner, but my soures say it's a good product. Let us know how that goes.

Hope you don't have to reformat your hard drive to get what should be such a simple BS thing to work! But sometimes a totally fresh install is the ONLY way to get rid of problems like this.

BTW. I am also assuming that you are keeping up with Virus Removal Scans, have at least 3 quality malware removal programs on your computer and are checking for updates and scanning on a regular basis. There might be some crap in there that needs to get out: For the record, I use:

Adware SE
Spybot S & D
Windows Defender
Spyware Blaster
AVG Anti-Virus 7.5
AVG-Anti-Spyware 7.5 (Pro)

In conjunction with Windows XP SP-2's firewall, checking for program updates and doing scans 1-2x.month. I check for AVG updates for the AV everyday, (released at least once a day.) I also do a monthly online scan at Trend Micro's Housecall site: GREAT SERVICE:

http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

Only one AV program should be installed on your system at any one time to prevent slowdowns and conflicts. You can run multiple malware removal programs but MAKE SURE that they are from trusted sites such as this one or www.majorgeeks.com or www.savemybutt.com The above one's listed are considered among the best by industry experts. Good luck!

Jack


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## slurpee55

I pretty much agree with Jack, although of his listed anti-spyware, I tried Windows Defender and found it was a resource hog and caused a number of problems. But there are a number of great, free programs - just get them from trusted sites!


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## carfin

derekjn said:


> Hey man, I had the EXACT same problem as you, and I finally just fixed it. I hope you are comfortable with your machine, because this fix requires some registry modification. Here is the process:
> 
> 1. Open regedit. Before you start, it is a good idea to back up your registry by going to File\Export. You can then import this file later should anything adverse happen.
> 
> 2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts
> (there will be entries for every file extension on your computer here).
> 
> 3. Open the .doc entry, as well as the .docx entry. There will be sub-entries under these named OpenWithList, and OpenWithProgids.
> 
> 4. Make all entries in the .doc OpenWithList and OpenWithProgids identical to their .docx counterparts. I deleted all of the ones in the .doc entry and recreated them to match the .docx just to be sure.
> 
> 5. After doing this, your machine will probably still associate .docs with WordPad, but Word 2007 will now show up in the Open With dialogue after you browse for it (I'm sure you know by now that the path is C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\WINWORD.EXE).
> 
> Hope this helps!


FANTASTIC!!!!

TOTALLY FIXED !!! *SO HAPPY* I am your BIGGEST FAN!!

Thanks SO MUCH,

Gavin


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## slurpee55

I think in Vista it is HKEY_CURRENT_USER, Software, Microsoft, Windows


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## carfin

slurpee55 said:


> I think in Vista it is HKEY_CURRENT_USER, Software, Microsoft, Windows


YES YOU'RE CORRECT!!

TOTALLY FIXED AND I'M TOTALLY HAPPY!!!

Thanks to you all for persevering!!!

Gavin


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## slurpee55

WOW....gonna be over 4 pages by the time we all congratulate you! Oh, and derekjn, A.) Welcome to the forum and B.) Good going!!!!!


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## derekjn

Thanks, I'm glad that worked for you carfin!


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## Jack1000

Glad that it worked!!!!!!

But this issue REALLY needs to be addressed and fixed so that people don't have to do all of this for future releases of Vista/Office 2007!

Jack


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## EBSchrader

This issue needs to be marked SOLVED, for the benefit of the rest of our readers. <lg>


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## samkatz

Sounds like you came up a good solution for those who are willing to do a regedit....I'm very reluctant to do so.

The question is: what are the odds off an automatic fix from m.s. for this?

sk


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## Jack1000

samkatz said:


> Sounds like you came up a good solution for those who are willing to do a regedit....I'm very reluctant to do so.
> 
> The question is: what are the odds off an automatic fix from m.s. for this?
> 
> sk


I agree Sam,

And to be honest, while I'm glad that Gavin got help and a solution, I wouldn't even touch Reg Edit. Gavin said that he has strong computer experience. I know how to keep my system updated, do monthly malware removal checks and updates, but working with REG EDIT I find MUCH too risky, That is why I had suggested the C Cleaner download above.

I'm waiting till this XP machine dies of natural causes before I am even thinking about Vista/Office 2007. MS said they will support XP for at least another 3 years, so by that time issues such as this should be worked out. MS should I would HOPE have an issue for this within 6 months. People should just keep sending feedback on this issue to MS. It appears that many who installed Office 2007 over a pre-existing version have this issue. This appears to be a typical new software bug/Vista OS bug that needs a patch....ASAP.

Jack


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## derekjn

I agree, regedit should be a last resort solution. But as time goes on, Windows releases are becoming more and more controlling of their host machines, giving advanced users less and less flexibility. To me, this is especially apparent with Vista. Unfortunately, sometimes the easiest way to fix something is to backdoor it.


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## carfin

samkatz said:


> Sounds like you came up a good solution for those who are willing to do a regedit....I'm very reluctant to do so.
> 
> The question is: what are the odds off an automatic fix from m.s. for this?
> 
> sk


Samkatz,

Seriously this was so easy and took all of 60 seconds. Really it was so simple. You would have no problems.

Looking at it, even if you accidently deleted the folder of .doc it would only affect your word documents which aren't opening anyway..

Go on give it a try, I'm well impressed!

Gavin


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## samkatz

What do you make of this? I got a few .docs sent to my yahoo account, dowloaded them, in and my firefox attachment box, got "Openwith", and MSWORD.exe was right there. Opened w/no problem. Why does the correct association come up from w/in firefox download module, and not within the Vista association system??


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## gra_beach

derekjn said:


> Hey man, I had the EXACT same problem as you, and I finally just fixed it. I hope you are comfortable with your machine, because this fix requires some registry modification. Here is the process:
> 
> 1. Open regedit. Before you start, it is a good idea to back up your registry by going to File\Export. You can then import this file later should anything adverse happen.
> 
> 2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts
> (there will be entries for every file extension on your computer here).
> 
> 3. Open the .doc entry, as well as the .docx entry. There will be sub-entries under these named OpenWithList, and OpenWithProgids.
> 
> 4. Make all entries in the .doc OpenWithList and OpenWithProgids identical to their .docx counterparts. I deleted all of the ones in the .doc entry and recreated them to match the .docx just to be sure.
> 
> 5. After doing this, your machine will probably still associate .docs with WordPad, but Word 2007 will now show up in the Open With dialogue after you browse for it (I'm sure you know by now that the path is C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\WINWORD.EXE).
> 
> Hope this helps!


Hi,
I have exactly the same problem after loading Office 03 onto a new Vista system. However there is a .doc entry, but no .docx entry in the register. Any suggestions? Interestingly Word 2000 from an old Works Suite disc is okay.

As a side comment, it seems Vista is incompatible with Computer Associates anti-virus, old Diamond View scanners and the Nero/Samsung DVD (software that came with the system out of date, Nero want me to buy more) - all these are apparently okay with XP. The latest Acrobat Reader stops a couple of hours into the download - though v6.0 gets through. Visits to hardware/software sites and numerous e-mail exchanges has produced minimal success with any of the above.
System also often drops to less than 1 kB/s download rate and won't open numerous home pages but will often go direct to a sub-page.
I am about to take the whole show back to the supplier and demand XP or even ME that I had before.
Cheers, Graeme


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## slurpee55

Vista won't have a .docx entry in itself - that format is part of Office 2007. There is a compatibility pack that allows Office 2003 to open the new formats - get it here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...70-3AE9-4AEE-8F43-C6BB74CD1466&displaylang=en
As for the incompatibility...well, that is one of the main issues with Vista - and one of the main reasons I haven't switched from XP.


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## gra_beach

Hi again,
Have made several attempts over the past few weeks (at 1 to 2 kB/s it can be a long process) to download compatibility pack. All have failed at anywhere between 3% and 90% because;
"Internet Explorer cannot download FileFormatConverters.exe from download.microsoft.com. The connection with the server was reset."
Thanks for your help, but it really does seem I've been sold a dog of a system.
Regards, Graeme


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## slurpee55

gra, let me see if I can't download it, zip it and upload it to here or somewhere else for you to try


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## NeoSoul

i did the modifications in the registry entries...but still no solution  what do i do??


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## miles_:D

Hi there,
to solve the problem, you've to take the following steps:

go to START -> RUN and type REGEDIT -> enter
the registry editor is going to show up!

Then for Vista the path is: HKEY_CURRENT_USER, Software, Microsoft, Windows, Current User, Explorer, FileExts

There you'll find the .doc and .docx folders
In the .docx folder youl find the OpenWithProgids folder, and in this folder you'll find the Word.Document.12 binary value.
Now go to the same folder in the .doc folder and create exactly the same binary value (Word.Document.12) as you saw in the .docx/OpenWithProgids folder.

You're done, the .DOC files are now associated to Word 2007!


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## MichelleMM

Hi everyone, my husband is so smart this morning,lol. I have a new Vista Home Premium, HP Media Center and I do not have Word of any kind. But when I transferred my .doc files from his XP laptop to my new pc, vista would not open the .doc files. So I searched for hours, came across this site, and thought I'd throw in our 2 cents worth if it might help someone else. The only program I have is Works 8. My husband told me to open Microsoft Works 8 and click the OPEN icon. I browsed my documents folder until I found the old .doc files from the old pc and when I clicked, it opened and I could read it. So, open up Works and find your .doc file and you should be able to read it.


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## slurpee55

Hi Michelle,
That may work as a stopgap, but, frankly, I think Works is a lousy program, and documents that you save in its native format are not able to be read by almost anything else, including Word.
I would recommend that you get MS Office (which has Word) or OpenOffice.org (which is free) to use rather than using Works.


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## MichelleMM

Thanks so much for the tip,Slurpee55! Sounds like a plan, you are right.


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## kythen

Hey guys, just wanted to thank you all for your help on this one, just made my day! And I just kissed the frustration of having to open word first goodbye =)

Great job


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## makovich

I installed the new office for Vista and I suddenly got the error described at the beginning of the thread.

I googled for an aswer and got here in a few minutes.
I checked the first answers and did not work for me just as the did not work for some of the people. Skipped to the end of the thread and post #66 had the magic answer!

Thanks guys!

Max V.


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## mark_jump2top

i know this maybe a late reaponse but i just wanna share my idea.

for those who are using microsoft. if you van't open a word2007 file with a 2003 file, you have to download a software to convert it.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HA100444731033.aspx


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## Jack1000

Microsoft really needs a patch to fix this!

Let me post what we have learned so far with regards to Word 2007 and those people who can't open up older version Word documents with the new Office 2007 program as ALTERNATIVES to REGEDIT. (Which you REALLY don't want to screw around with unless you know what you are doing.) can try the steps below:

BEFORE DOWNLOADING ANY OF THE UPDATE PATCHES BELOW, DOWNLOAD AND INSTALL ALL CRITICAL WINDOWS UPDATES THROUGH MICROSOFT UPDATE FIRST!

STEPS TO TRY FOR OPENING OLDER VERSIONS OF WORD DOCUMENTS IN WORD 2007

1.) Try opening the earlier version Document (with a Doc) extension using the Open Cmd from within Office 2007

2.) There is a way to change the default setting in Word 2007 from docx to doc. someone with Office 2007 can post the steps how to do that.

3.) If someone SENDS you a document that they have SAVED in default Word 2007 (docx) format, you can download the file compatibility pack from Microsoft to open it:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HA100444731033.aspx

4.) If you want to be able to open old Word Documents from the My Documents folder, after transferring those files from an external source (i.e CD ROM) to your new computer or if you are updating from an older version of Office to Office 2007, download the Word 2003 viewer. This will allow you to open, view, and print Word documents created with older versions of Word. (If you can't open them with Word 2007) You don't even have to have ANY version of Office on your computer to use this viewer software:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...87-8732-48d5-8689-ab826e7b8fdf&displaylang=en

Hopefully, in the coming years, as Vista becomes less buggy, more mainstream, and Office 2007 does the same, people won't have to go through all of this confusion. Let me know if the Word Viewer helps you view some of those older documents. Remember, that Word 2007 compatibility patch to my knowledge is ONLY for opening documents created or sent to you by someone using Office 2007 and you have an older version of Office and need to open the 2007 document.

If you also use Excel and Power Point as well as Word and people are sending you documents, you can get the whole Office 2007 converter package (Word, Excel, and Power Point) here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...70-3ae9-4aee-8f43-c6bb74cd1466&DisplayLang=en

Not sure what is out there for Office Pro versions with regards to Access.

Jack

Jack


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## Anne Troy

I have to disagree about being so fearful of doing a REGEDIT. It's quite simple. You don't try to repair a Word doc without first making a copy, do you? So...when you open the registry, right-click the MyComputer icon and hit Export. Save it right to your desktop. That's your registry backup. If you screw up, you can double-click that icon and it'll put the registry right back the way it was.

I have been doing tech support for more than 10 years both online and on the phone and have NEVER heard of anybody *totally* screwing up their computer. The worst that has happened is that they put Word (or some other application) back to its installation state. And that's 'cause they didn't backup (export) their registry first, so they were unable to undo whatever changes they made.


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## Jack1000

I am bumping this, so if anyone has any more ideas for resolving this issue, let us know.

Jack


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## muttman

All - I'm new here but have been struggling with this exact irritating little problem for ages and have finally solved it...

I'm using Vista home premium and Office professional 2007.

To reiterate, my problem was:
- I could open old Word (.doc) files by going into Word 2007 and searching for the files.
- Double clicking on an old .doc file in explorer would not open Word 2007, but instead for some reason it was associated with Notepad/Wordpad, so would open as utter nonsense.
- I tried all the normal ways of associating a file type with a document (right click- open with- choose default program or going through control panel and trying to change file associations through there), but to no avail.
- I even tried messing with the registry, as suggested elsewhere on this thread, as it looked like it made sense and worked for others (didn't work for me - there were plenty of entries under FileExts entry for .doc files, but none for .docx).
- Etc etc etc!! 

Ultimately I got the solution off a friend who is an bit of a whizz, and had time to dig around on my pc and come up with the solution. He basically created a standard regedit file, which apparently resets some of the .doc associations to what they should be, rather than what they may have become by accidentally associating them with other programs etc.

This worked perfectly, and immediately all my .doc files are now associated with Word 2007 and open directly - success!! :up:

This is the text from the registry file:

*
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.doc]
"Content Type"="application/msword"
@="Word.Document.8"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.doc\PersistentHandler]
@="{98DE59A0-D175-11CD-A7BD-00006B827D94}"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.doc\shellex]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.doc\shellex\{8895b1c6-b41f-4c1c-a562-0d564250836f}]
@="{84F66100-FF7C-4fb4-B0C0-02CD7FB668FE}"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.doc\Word.Document.8]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.doc\Word.Document.8\ShellNew]*

Not trying to teach anyone to suck eggs... but in order to use this, you can either:
a) Manually make the above adjustments.
b) Copy-paste into notepad, then save the file as a registry file with extension .reg. Then double click the file to allow it to do its thing.

As ever - _always _make a backup of the current registry before messing about with it!!! (open regedit, right click on my computer and export).

Let me know if it works for anyone, or whether it was just me...


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## Gawain

Last week I bought a Toshiba laptop which came with Vista Home Premium and a trial version of MS Office 2007. All my current Office files are on another computer running Windows XP SP2 and MS Office 2003. 

Before I attempt to transfer these files to the laptop and perhaps encounter one or more of the problems that other posters in this thread have described I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions. I'd prefer to continue using MS Office 2003 and wonder if uninstalling the trial MS Office 2007 and then installing 2003 would work. The suggestion in post #66 seems to have worked for the problems described but I'm really not sure what to do in my situation.

Gawain


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## slurpee55

Gawain, if you really have no intention of purchasing or using the Office 2007, I would just uninstall it and then install 2003. You can run both versions on the same PC - except for Outlook, only one version of it can exist, so you could install 2003 also as long as you didn't install that.
However, since it sounds like you will mostly want to work using the older formats, you would probably want to change the defaults in 2007 to 2003 ones...no, if I was in your shoes - and had no real need for 2007 - I would just get rid of it first.


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## Gawain

Thanks slurpee55. I'll uninstall the MS Office 2007 trial version, install 2003 and transfer my files.

Gawain


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## slurpee55

No problem - if you have problems, I would suggest you start a new thread. Good luck!


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## Gawain

Will do, slurpee55. All seems to have worked well - so far.
Gawain


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## RootbeaR

Gawain said:


> Will do, slurpee55. All seems to have worked well - so far.
> Gawain


Whew! Lot of reading for nothing.

Anyone going to mark this solved?


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## slurpee55

That would have to be the OP, carfin, or one of the mods....


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## Loopy Girl

I have the same problem. Using Vista and Works 8.5 but can't open .doc files.

Am happy to do the solution that is documented here but - and forgive my lack of PC knowledge! - how do I get to the 'regedit' that is spoken about? The instructions seem quite clear so I am comfortable with doing the process but I am stuck on the first hurdle!!!

Many thanks


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## EBSchrader

Click on Start/Run, type in regedit, and click OK. There you are!


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## slurpee55

Yep - but always wise to do a backup first of your registry. And don't do anything else in there unless you know what you are doing!


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## Loopy Girl

Righty...followed the instructions but when I get to the 'Windows' bit, mines say 'Windoes Live' and the only folder from that is 'writer'.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks


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## DotHQ

Have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling Office 2007? I would reboot after uninstalling and then try a fresh install. It's worked for me on older versions of Windows software.

Edit to add:
Opps. I only read the 1st page of this thead. I did not notice there were 5 other pages of replies. Sorry bout that.


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## Loopy Girl

I did try that yesterday...it's Works 8.5 that I got when I bought the PC. Originally I was trying to open the docs in Adobe and then when that didn't work thought they would open in Word and that's where my problems started 

Thanks for replying though


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## slurpee55

Loopy Girl, I missed that in your post. That is why you are not having the same result. Works is a much weaker program and, no you can't open Word documents in it.
(This is why you should start your own thread - others also read your post and assumed you had Word 2007, like the original poster. Word 2007 is part of the Office 2007 suite - far different from Works 8.5. )
I would suggest you go to www.openoffice.org and download the _*free*_ office suite they have. It can do almost everything that Office from MS can.  :up:


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## Loopy Girl

Slurpee, I could kiss you!!!!! Worked a treat and I can see my docs now 

Thank you ever so much for taking the time to help me  x


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## slurpee55

Glad to have helped!


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