File types - I want wordpad

[Mike Easter]

Where do I fix this? It must be the registry somewhere. The usual
methods aren't working right. Should I uninstall Winword?

I want winword .doc files to open in wordpad, not winword.

However, when I try to open a winword.doc, it doesn't open in wordpad, it
doesn't open at all, but winword loads.

In My Computer/ View/ Folder options/ File types/ Microsoft Word Document
it sez

Opens with wordpad

In that same Filetypes section, I've changed everything in Edit to say
wordpad, new, edit, print and they all say "C:\Program
Files\Accessories\WORDPAD.EXE" with the quotes except one of them sez
C:\PROGRA~1\ACCESS~1\WORDPAD.EXE "%1"

Wordpad is located in Programs/ Accessories

And...

When I shift click a winword doc and say 'open with' - if I leave 'always
use this program to open this file' *unchecked* and select wordpad then
it /will/ open in wordpad. If I *check* always use this program and
select wordpad, the file /doesn't/ open, wordpad doesn't open, but
winword loads just as I described at the top if I simply doubleclick the
..doc.

Win98se, Word 2002.

 

[Mike Easter]

Wordpad is located in Programs/ Accessories

C:\Program Files\Accessories\Wordpad.exe

 

[Mike Easter]

Where do I fix this? It must be the registry somewhere. The usual
methods aren't working right. Should I uninstall Winword?

I want winword .doc files to open in wordpad, not winword.

I haven't been able to fix the problem; everything, including Open
Expert sez that the only application which is configured to open winword
docs is wordpad, not winword, but now I have a satisfactory workaround -
sorta satisfactory, at least it works.

By installing Open Expert, I can prevent winword from opening and force
wordpad to open the file by having a more complex R click context menu.
That is, instead of simply opening a doc file, I R click it to get a big
context menu and choose the item that sez open expert => wordpad.

That's ridiculous that I have to do it like that. I don't know why the
office/word install screwed that situation up so much. I have a feeling
it messed up the OpenWithList registry key.

 

[Graham Mayor]

Word will always contrive to open its own files and grab its file
associations. Any attempt to change this will result in disappointment. The
simplest solution is to add the 'open with' option to the right mouse button
to have Wordpad as one of the options.

--
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Graham Mayor - Word MVP


<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[Mike Easter]

Word will always contrive to open its own files and grab its file
associations. Any attempt to change this will result in
disappointment. The simplest solution is to add the 'open with'
option to the right mouse button to have Wordpad as one of the
options.

That's not a very nice configuration, is it?

That's one of the reasons that MS has the reputation it does, and people
are able to devote entire websites to such annoyances.

I would hope that the developers and such would argue against such
misconfigurations.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

I don't think it is unreasonable for any company or application to make the
assumption that a user who has the application installed will want to use
that application to open files created with that application. I would be
very unhappy if my Word documents suddenly started being opened by, say,
WordPad (or WordPerfect or CorelDRAW or whatever). If Word is not installed,
then the user is given a choice of applications to use.

Generally speaking, it is possible to choose which application will be used
to open specific file types (such as JPEG or TIF or HTML), and this
selection is respected.

 

[Mike Easter]

I don't think it is unreasonable for any company or application to
make the assumption that a user who has the application installed
will want to use that application to open files created with that
application.

The operating system alleges that the file types is configurable as I
described in the first post which I'll replay some of at the bottom of
this one. That allegation is described in the Help files for the OS, and
also in the Help files for the Word application. And lots of other
places, many MS.

I would be very unhappy if my Word documents suddenly
started being opened by, say, WordPad (or WordPerfect or CorelDRAW or
whatever). If Word is not installed, then the user is given a choice
of applications to use.

No. The way it is supposed to be is that whether Word is installed or
not, the user should be able to configure which application opens the
..doc file by default. Word isn't acting according to the MS OS rules.
This is the case for Word 2002. My Word 97 behaved properly.

Generally speaking, it is possible to choose which application will
be used to open specific file types (such as JPEG or TIF or HTML),
and this selection is respected.

Exactly. Graham MVP is saying that Word has bad behavior in that regard,
see below.

"Mike Easter"

Mike Easter wrote at the first post: