Cannot open .docx and I have 2007 installed, unless I rename file

[zooeyhallne]

I had posted this previously, where I could not open .docx files received in
Outlook email on a computer that already has Office 2007 on it.

I have now found out that if I first download the .docx file email
attachment to the local drive, and rename the .docx extension on the filename
to .doc, then it opens just fine. And while this gets the file to open, I
cannot be asking the user to this involved procedure for every .docx he
receives (it is the CEO and he just wants the file to open when
double-clicking it in the email---just like other files).

I am running Office 2007 with all the latest updates.

Can anyone advise on how to fix this? I have two computers-both running XP
and Office 2007--that are now doing this.

 

[Herb Tyson [MVP]]

This doesn't make sense. It sounds as if the files aren't really .docx
files, but are .doc files that have been misnamed. Can it be that someone is
confused and thinks that renaming a .doc file is all you have to do to
create a .docx file?

A way to see if these files really are .docx files is save one to your hard
drive, then use Windows Explorer to rename it as a .zip file. Once you've
done that, are you able to open the zip to see the internal structure? If
you aren't, then it's not really a .docx file.

What happens if you email yourself an actual .docx file (as a test) as an
attachment. Can you open .docx files you yourself originate, without going
through the renaming exercise?


--

Herb Tyson MS MVP
Author of the Word 2007 Bible
Blog: http://word2007bible.herbtyson.com
Web: http://www.herbtyson.com