The "File Download" dialog box appears if you download a file after you click to clear the "Always ask before opening this type of file" check box in Windows XP Service Pack 2 or in Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (905703)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 (SP2)
  • Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 (SP2)
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003 SP1
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0
Important This article contains information about how to modify the registry. Make sure to back up the registry before you modify it. Make sure that you know how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up, restore, and modify the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows registry

SYMPTOMS

Consider the following scenario:
  • You visit a Web site by using Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.
  • You click a link to download a particular kind of file from that Web site.
  • In the File Download dialog box that appears, you click to clear the Always ask before opening this type of file check box, and you then save the file to a location on the computer.
  • The next time that you visit a Web site to download the same kind of file, the File Download dialog box appears again.
This symptom occurs if a user who has administrator rights or power user rights opens the Edit File Type dialog box for the type of file that you downloaded.

For example, this issue occurs if the following conditions are true:
  • You click to clear the Always ask before opening this type of file check box when you download a Microsoft Word file.
  • A user who is a member of the Administrators group or the Power Users group performs the following steps::
    1. Click Start, and then click My Computer.
    2. On the Tools menu, click Folder Options.
    3. Click the File Types tab.
    4. In the Registered file types box, click DOC, and then click Advanced.
    5. In the Edit File Type box, click Cancel or OK.

WORKAROUND

To work around this issue, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Manually restore the download preference

Click to clear the Always ask before opening this type of file check box in the File Download dialog box that appears when you download a file.

Method 2: Modify the download preference on the computer

If you are a user who is a member of the Administrators group or the Power Users group, modify the download preference for a file type.

Note This is an operating system-wide change that affects all the users who log on to the computer and who download the file type.

To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, and then click My Computer.
  2. On the Tools menu, click Folder Options.
  3. Click the File Types tab.
  4. In the Registered file types list, click the file type for which you want to modify the download preference, and then click Advanced.
  5. Click to clear the Confirm open after download check box, and then click OK.
  6. Click Close.

MORE INFORMATION

The Internet Explorer Always ask before opening this type of file option is stored in the user part of the registry. A unique entry is put in the following registry subkey for each file type for which the user clicks to clear the Always ask before opening this type of file check box:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\AttachmentExecute\{0002DF01-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}

Members of the Administrators group or the Power Users group have rights to write to the following registry hive:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT

Therefore, if a user who is a member of the Administrators group or the Power Users group opens the Edit File Type dialog box for the particular kind of file, the specific user settings are removed from the registry and the operating system settings for the file association are restored. This action resets the user-defined settings for the file association.

Consider the following example scenario:
  • A user clicks to clear the Always ask before opening this type of file check box when he or she downloads a Microsoft Office Word 2003 file from a Web server. In this situation, the user's registry is updated with the following registry entry:

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\AttachmentExecute\{0002DF01-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}

    Value name: Word.Document.8
    Value type: REG_NONE
    Value data: zero-length binary value

  • Every time that this user opens an Office Word 2003 document, Windows examines the user's registry to determine whether the Word.Document.8 registry entry exists. If this registry entry exists, the user does not receive the File Download dialog box.

    Note This does not affect the default file association settings that are located in the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT registry hive.
  • A user who is a member of the Administrators group or the Power Users group follows the steps in the "Symptoms" section to open the Edit File Type dialog box for the DOC file type.

    When the Edit File Type dialog box opens, the default options are displayed for the file association. If a user who is a member of the Administrators group or the Power Users group clicks OK or Cancel to close the Edit File Type dialog box, the Word.Document.8 registry entry in the particular user's part of the registry is deleted.
  • When the user next clicks a link to download an Office Word 2003 file, the File Download dialog box again appears.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:9/1/2005
Keywords:kbtshoot kbprb KB905703 kbAudEndUser kbAudITPRO
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