Ask a new question

Word 2003 problem opening docx files

I know that 2003 is no longer supported, but I thought the community may be able to help me.

I have two computers, both running Windows 7 Professional and Office 2003 with SP3 and the format converter.

On one computer, everything works fine--I'm able to open the new formats ("x") by double-clicking on the file.

On the other computer, I can do the same for xlsx and pptx files, but not for docx.  I can open docx by opening from within Word, but not by double-clicking on the file name.  I get an error message that says:  "This action is only valid for products that are currently installed".  I checked the list of file types in the control panel and they are correct.  I then un-installed and re-installed Office 2003, SP3 and the file converter add-on.  No change.  I'm stumped at this point.

Anyone know what the problem might be on the second computer?  Thanks.

John

Can you open Word first and then use File > Open to get to the file? If this works then the problem is likely to be with your file association for docx files.
Andrew Lockton
Melbourne Australia

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn't help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

As I said in my original post, I can open from within Word (i.e. File/Open).  I also said that I had checked my file associations, and they are the same as my other computer.   Got to be something more subtle.

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn't help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

I had this problem too when Office 2010 was installed, then downgraded to 2003.  We have the older versions and only want to use those for test computers as they do not require the latest versions of Office.  Here's what I did and so far it seems to be working.  Fix the file association classes by modifying the registry.  You may need to modify the following (the first section removes any culprit items, this may need to be run under each user logged on a computer that has used Office before):

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.docx]

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.pptx]

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.xlsx]

[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.docx]

[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.pptx]

[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.xlsx]

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

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

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

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.docx\Word.Document.8\ShellNew]
"FileName"="winword8.doc"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.pptx]
@="PowerPoint.Show.8"
"Content Type"="application/vnd.ms-powerpoint"

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

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.pptx\Powerpoint.Show.8]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.pptx\Powerpoint.Show.8\ShellNew]
"FileName"="pwrpnt11.pot"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.xlsx]
@="Excel.Sheet.8"
"Content Type"="application/vnd.ms-excel"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.xlsx\Excel.Sheet.8]
@=""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.xlsx\Excel.Sheet.8\ShellNew]
"FileName"="excel9.xls"

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

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn't help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

 
 

Question Info

Last updated April 10, 2024 Views 815 Applies to: