Outlook won't open word attachments

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cmg - Oct 17, 2008 at 01:40 AM
 whiggins - Apr 9, 2014 at 11:41 AM
Hello,
I have Microsoft office 2003 and Windows XP home. When I try to open an email attachment that is a word document Outlook crashes. This happens with both attachments I have opened in the past and still have in Outlook and new ones. Photo's and PDF attachments open fine. The problem started yesterday about a day after I scanned the computer with AVG free edition, Lavasoft adaware, and spybot. adaware found some cookies which I deleted and the other 2 found nothing. I had had a strange message from AVG about a Trojan for which it couldn't find any of the files which were supposed to be infected which lead me to scan the computer. Any help appreciated.
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8 responses

Hello

it is obvious that your Microsoft office 2003 has been affected, remember in other cases when you can install an anti-virus later after you have installed an operating system it can delete your data or even corrupt it, so it is important for you to uninstall that Microsoft office 2003 and install a new one.
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This isn't a resolution, it's a load of useless information. A reinstallation would not fix this problem at all and Owen should not have suggested that first. A reinstallation is always one of the last options when all else fails.

You should be aware that multiple AV programs on your computer will cause problems with performance as they will always conflict with one another but this is not sufficient enough info to suggest that it is related to MS Word crashing. A recommendation would be to remove all AV software and install AVG or Avast (only one) as these are both free and reliable; this will definitely imporve performance

Regarding Win Word...

First, try opening Outlook in safe mode. If it works, it points towards add-ins. If not then something else.

Secondly, clear the outlook cache. Close Outlook, reopen and try again. Any luck?

Next, try saving the file onto your desktop and then opening in Word. If it works, it's an issue with Outlook which will need to be repaired by doing the following.

Go to: C:\\Program Files\Microsoft\Office x\Scanpst.exe
(Where 'Office X' is your version of office) and run Scanpst.exe (process can take 10 - 30 mins)

If it doesn't work, right-click on Word and open properties, go to the compatibility tab and uncheck 'Run in Compatibility Mode' and 'Run as Administrator'

Save changes and try again.

Still nothing?

Last step would be to run the MS Word Diags, located on the following link:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/921541

If this fails... THEN try reinstalling...

I hope you manage to fix it!
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Thanks Owen. I was hoping to avoid having to do that but I think I will have to.YFIN
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I have the same problem...did the reinstall fix it?
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Hank > italiana
Dec 6, 2008 at 01:55 PM
I have had the same problem starting a couple of days ago. Used all type of maintenance procedures and I tried reinstalling ms word 2003. Still have the problem.

Here is what comes up ... "Windows cannot find C:\Dopcuments and Settings\HP_Administrator\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\4EEJSKRZ\myfile.doc"

I'm stumped, so does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks
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Re-installing microsoft office did not help. I defraged the computer and then started to get it ready to wipe out the c drive and reinstall the operating system and all other programmes. Some-how everything started working again without me needing to do that. How this happened I do not know. You may think wiping out the c drive is a bit drastic but I was having lots of other strange things happening to various of my programmes.
Cathy
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Cathy > italiana
Dec 6, 2008 at 10:20 PM
The re-install did not help
Cathy
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delete the normal.dot file and try again
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Outlook 2007 would not open .docx files, I had to save them and then open. I found out that the .docx files were set to open with word viewer by default. I changed the association to always open with Word and the problem was solved.
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Where do you find where the .docx files were set to open with word viewer?
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rizvisa1 Posts 4478 Registration date Thursday January 28, 2010 Status Contributor Last seen May 5, 2022 766
Jun 10, 2010 at 11:03 AM
Right click on a a docx file and choose open with. Select word and ensure that you have checked "always open with"
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I've got the same problem, but when I right click on the docx file the only option I have is "open", not "open with". How do I get the "open with" option to appear?
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I, too, have LesaJ"s experience using Outlook 2007. There's no "open with" option when I right-click an attachment to an e-mail message. PDFs open seemlessly. However, when I double-click an attachment with a .doc or .docx extension, nothing happens. Ditto if I right-click it and select "open." (I also use Word 2007.)
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still.here64 Posts 33 Registration date Thursday November 4, 2010 Status Member Last seen November 23, 2010 49
Nov 18, 2010 at 04:05 PM
Please check whether your security settings is not restricting the task.
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jenniferjacob12 Posts 1 Registration date Thursday February 27, 2014 Status Member Last seen February 27, 2014
Feb 27, 2014 at 11:11 AM
You can go through the following Microsoft Live Support link to fix Outlook problems with office word.
For more detailed Information,
Check this link.. and you can also have live [U]CHAT/U with the microsoft certified agent to clarify your problem ..
This link is related to your Query..
i think this link will give you a solution to your answer..

https://www.microsoftlivesupport.com/blog/index.php?controller=post&action=view&id_post=24
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jenniferjacob12
Feb 27, 2014 at 11:14 AM
You can go through the following Microsoft Live Support link to fix Outlook problems with office word.
For more detailed Information,
Check this link.. and you can also have live [U]CHAT/U with the microsoft certified agent to clarify your problem ..
This link is related to your Query..
i think this link will give you a solution to your answer..

check---> http://www.microsoftlivesupport.com/blog/index.php?controller=post&action=view&id_post=24
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I had the same issue after upgrading from 2007 to 2010. What I found was that some of the word documents were still associated with 2007 Word which no longer exists on the PC. Go into file associations and make sure the Word documents are associated with "Microsoft Word" and not "Microsoft Office Word".
Hope this helps.
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