Bug Fix: Microsoft Word isn’t your default program for viewing and editing Documents (Windows 10)

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Every time you run Microsoft Office Word you can see a message that Microsoft Word isn’t your default program for viewing and editing Documents. Do you want to select the types of files that you want Word to open?

You can also see this message if Word is the default program for viewing and editing doc, .docm,.docx, .dot, .dotm,.dotx, .odt, .wbk, .wiz file types and the ms-word: URL protocol.

This is a simple problem, and no repair of the Office Word installation is required to solve it.

For many years Microsoft Word has been the best device for reading documents on computers and smartphones. Most people prefer Word for document files. Its convenient features make it one of the best document readers. Some users complain that Word is not the default program every time they open a new document file. This problem occurs in many versions of Windows. These are the reasons for this problem and the methods to solve it.

What is Microsoft Word?

A good definition is that it is a text program. It is an application that allows to “process” – format, manipulate, save, print, exchange – a text document.

Microsoft Word is probably the most popular word processor in the world. This is due to the fact that it is part of the Microsoft Office package, which is installed on a billion devices around the world (according to groovyPost).

When Word 1.0 for Windows was released in 1989, it was one of the first word processors to offer the WYSIWYG interface (what you see is what you get).

This combination of ease of use and reliable functionality makes it one of the most popular word processors today, both at home and in the office. It is now available for the Mac operating system and as a web-based Office 365 subscription version.

 

What do I need Microsoft Word for?

For businesses or schools

Microsoft Word is a great tool for creating business documents. Of course, you can develop business and school documents from scratch. You can also give yourself a forum with a professionally designed template.

You can also find templates to help you create the following documents:

• Letter
• Report or document
• Suggestion
• Newsletter
• Brochure
• Catalog
• Poster
• Brochure
• Postcard
• Character
• Banner
• Types of curriculum
• Business card
• Invoice
• Received by
• Product Packaging
• Shipping sticker

For personal use

There are also many personal MS Word applications. Here are a few of them:

• Invitation
• Map
• Gift Tags
• Recipe Sheet
• Map Place
• Certificates

As you can see, Microsoft Word is very useful for your personal and professional life!

 

For what reason does the prompt “Word isn’t Your Default Program for Viewing and Editing Docs” appear?

Several reasons may have led to a notification appear whenever a Windows user tried to open a document file in Word. The most obvious is that this can be enabled in Word settings. In most cases, a notification will appear when it is allowed.

Besides Windows settings, there are also cases when another application is configured by default to open a .docx document. Thus, there is a way to make Word the default application, which we will talk about below.

Another possible reason is that Windows 10 can have problems when the operating system sometimes confuses certain configuration settings.

We investigated this particular problem by examining various user reports and repair strategies used by affected users when this hint appears. It turns out that several different scenarios can invoke this hint every time a user tries to open a .docx document:

• Command-line can be displayed in Word settings – The command line is displayed only as long as it is allowed. If you want to prevent the command line from appearing without fixing the cause of the problem, you can do so by entering the Word settings and disabling the command line in the startup options.

 

• Windows 10 Error – It turns out that this particular problem can also be caused by an error that confuses the operating system, giving the impression that the program is already configured for this type of file, which it is not. Several affected users reported that the problem was solved by changing the default application for .docx files from the “Default Applications” screen.

 

• Another application is configured as the default application – In most cases, the hint is real and signals when Word is not configured as the default application. If this script is applicable to your situation, you can solve the problem by right-clicking on the file and using the context menu to change the default application.

 

• Corrupted Office installation – A corrupted file in the Office installation folder may also be responsible for this particular error. Several affected users confirmed that they can solve the problem by running Office recovery from the Programs and Features screen.

 

• Conflicting desktop installations – If you have two or more conflicting desktop installations installed on your computer, this is most likely the cause of the problem. Not only is it possible to install another version of Word, because the default windows tend to interfere with the default application in situations where there are multiple Office installations at the same time. In this case, you should be able to solve the problem by removing all unnecessary Office installations.

 

How to fix Word isn’t Your Default Program for Viewing and Editing Docs?



Disable the standard Word program dialog.

• In the Word section select the File tab.
• Click the Options button to open the Word Options window.
• In the Word Options window, select General on the left.
• Scroll down the window until you reach the start parameters.
• Clear the “Tell me if Microsoft Word isn’t the default program for viewing and editing docs” checkbox.
• Click the OK button.

 

Repair of Word office installation

• Open the Start dialog box by pressing the Windows key combination + R key.
• Type appwiz.cpl into the Run field and click OK to open the uninstaller control panel window.

• Select your MS Office package from the list.
• Click the Edit button to open the repair options.

• Select the Quick Recovery or Online Repair radio button.
• Click the Restore button.
• Reboot Windows after Office repair.

 

Checking standard requests according to file type parameters

• Make sure that all file types are set to the default for Word. To do this, click “Type here to search” in Windows 10.
• Then enter the default keyword in the search box.
• Click on the default applications to open the entry window directly below.

• Click Set Default Settings with the application to open the software list.

 

• Select the Word program and click the Manage button.
• You will then see a list of file types that Word can open. Select Word for all file types, as this is not the default application.
• Select Word again for all file types, as this is already the default setting for updating.
• Then reboot your laptop or desktop computer.

 

Uninstalling the old Office suites

• Open the Run dialog box.
• Then you can open the uninstaller by typing appwiz.cpl in the Run menu and pressing OK.

• Then find the old Office installation, which is listed in the Programs and Functions section.
• Select the old Office installation (not the current one) and click Uninstall.
• Click Yes when you are prompted to confirm the uninstallation.
• Reboot Windows after uninstalling the old Office software.

 

Select Notepad, and then select Word as the default file type

• Right-click the file you want to open the dialog box for and select Open.
• Select Select Other request > Other requests > Notepad.
• Select the Always use this application check box.

 

• Click the OK button.
• Then right-click the same file again, and select Open with > Select another application > Word.
• Select the Always use this application check box, and then click OK again.

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