WD: Double-Clicking Document Opens Document Based on Original (145488)

SYMPTOMS

When you open an Office document by double-clicking the document icon, the document is opened with a different file name than the original file name. For example, a Word document is opened as Document1. (Word assigns a sequential number to each successive document you double-click to open.) This behavior does not occur when you start the program and then open the document from inside the program.

This also happens in other Office program with the following results:

Program                           Document File name Changes to
--------------------              ------------------------------

Microsoft Excel                   <File name>1, <File name>2, and so on

Microsoft PowerPoint              Presentation, Presentation 2, and so on

Microsoft Access                  N/A

Other Microsoft or non-Microsoft programs may exhibit similar behavior.

The major drawback to this behavior is that when Word (or another Office program) opens the document, it is not opening the original document; instead the program is opening a copy that is based on the document that you double-clicked.

CAUSE

The default action for the file type is set to New instead of Open. (To locate this option, in Windows Explorer, click Options on the View menu and then click the File Types tab.) As a result, when you double-click the file, the program opens a new document based on the file you double- clicked. Word 6 opens two documents--a new document based on the file and the document itself.

RESOLUTION

To correct the problem, use the following steps to reset the default action to Open instead of New:

In Windows Explorer, click Options on the View menu, and then click the File Types tab.
From the list of Registerd File Types, select Microsoft Word Document (or the Office program that exhibits this problem), and then click the Edit button.
In the Actions list, select Open and then click the Set Default button.