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#1
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Filetype blocked by registry setting
I have been doing some cleanup of old documents. I tried to open one
document and I got an error message about the filetype having been created by an earlier version of Word and it being blocked by a registry setting. The message inside the box is: "This error occurs if you try to open a Microsoft Office document and the file type for that document has been blocked by a registry policy setting. To help secure your computer, Microsoft or the administrator of this computer implemented a registry policy setting that prevents opening this type of file. To open documents with this file type, disable the registry policy setting. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 922850." Clicking on the hyperlink, I am taken to: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=922850 This contains a lot of complicated information about changing the registry. I am reluctant to make registry changes. Is there any downside to making these registry changes? What's the best way to handle this situation? I find this action by Microsoft very unfriendly. I have been using Word since it first came out. I don't think it's my responsibility to load and resave all of my old documents every time a new release of Word comes out. Is there a utility that will scan my hard disk, locate all documents saved with unsupported versions of Word, and offer me the chance to convert them? |
#2
Posted to microsoft.public.word.newusers
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Filetype blocked by registry setting
Did you click on the link to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922849/? That's
applicable if you have Word 2007. If you have Word 2003, you can click on that link to get to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/938810/, which gets you to the real nitty-gritty. Method 1 provides a downloadable update that will make the Registry edit for you. It is provided by MS and is quite safe. -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA http://word.mvps.org "Sesquipedalian Sam" wrote in message ... I have been doing some cleanup of old documents. I tried to open one document and I got an error message about the filetype having been created by an earlier version of Word and it being blocked by a registry setting. The message inside the box is: "This error occurs if you try to open a Microsoft Office document and the file type for that document has been blocked by a registry policy setting. To help secure your computer, Microsoft or the administrator of this computer implemented a registry policy setting that prevents opening this type of file. To open documents with this file type, disable the registry policy setting. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 922850." Clicking on the hyperlink, I am taken to: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=922850 This contains a lot of complicated information about changing the registry. I am reluctant to make registry changes. Is there any downside to making these registry changes? What's the best way to handle this situation? I find this action by Microsoft very unfriendly. I have been using Word since it first came out. I don't think it's my responsibility to load and resave all of my old documents every time a new release of Word comes out. Is there a utility that will scan my hard disk, locate all documents saved with unsupported versions of Word, and offer me the chance to convert them? |
#3
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Filetype blocked by registry setting
In addition to Suzanne's pointers to the better KB articles, I'd like to
correct a misapprehension. You wrote I find this action by Microsoft very unfriendly. I have been using Word since it first came out. I don't think it's my responsibility to load and resave all of my old documents every time a new release of Word comes out. That's not what's happening here. There is no need to resave the documents even once, let alone "every time a new release of Word comes out." Microsoft engineers determined that -- quoting http://support.microsoft.com/kb/938810 -- "the parsing code that Office 2003 uses to open and save the [old] file types is less secure". For reasons that the article doesn't mention, they decided to disable that code rather than rewrite it in a secure manner. They left it up to you to decide whether to take the risk -- a very small risk if you open only your own documents, but maybe a larger risk if you don't know where the old documents have been. I agree that the chase 'round the barn to find the right KB article is pretty poor, but it is a one-time thing. -- Regards, Jay Freedman Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all may benefit. Sesquipedalian Sam wrote: I have been doing some cleanup of old documents. I tried to open one document and I got an error message about the filetype having been created by an earlier version of Word and it being blocked by a registry setting. The message inside the box is: "This error occurs if you try to open a Microsoft Office document and the file type for that document has been blocked by a registry policy setting. To help secure your computer, Microsoft or the administrator of this computer implemented a registry policy setting that prevents opening this type of file. To open documents with this file type, disable the registry policy setting. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 922850." Clicking on the hyperlink, I am taken to: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=922850 This contains a lot of complicated information about changing the registry. I am reluctant to make registry changes. Is there any downside to making these registry changes? What's the best way to handle this situation? I find this action by Microsoft very unfriendly. I have been using Word since it first came out. I don't think it's my responsibility to load and resave all of my old documents every time a new release of Word comes out. Is there a utility that will scan my hard disk, locate all documents saved with unsupported versions of Word, and offer me the chance to convert them? |
#4
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Filetype blocked by registry setting
On Thu, 2 Apr 2009 10:18:15 -0500, "Suzanne S. Barnhill"
wrote: Did you click on the link to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922849/? That's applicable if you have Word 2007. If you have Word 2003, you can click on that link to get to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/938810/, which gets you to the real nitty-gritty. Method 1 provides a downloadable update that will make the Registry edit for you. It is provided by MS and is quite safe. I have 2007. I didn't see a downloadable update. Is that just for 2003? For 2007, do I have to do the manual registry update? |
#5
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Filetype blocked by registry setting
Yes, you'll need to either do the manual update or put the files in a
trusted location; see http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/he...319991033.aspx -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA http://word.mvps.org "Sesquipedalian Sam" wrote in message ... On Thu, 2 Apr 2009 10:18:15 -0500, "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote: Did you click on the link to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922849/? That's applicable if you have Word 2007. If you have Word 2003, you can click on that link to get to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/938810/, which gets you to the real nitty-gritty. Method 1 provides a downloadable update that will make the Registry edit for you. It is provided by MS and is quite safe. I have 2007. I didn't see a downloadable update. Is that just for 2003? For 2007, do I have to do the manual registry update? |
#6
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Filetype blocked by registry setting
On Thu, 2 Apr 2009 12:45:19 -0500, "Suzanne S. Barnhill"
wrote: Yes, you'll need to either do the manual update or put the files in a trusted location; see http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/he...319991033.aspx That did it. I was able to move the files to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Templates and open them without any problems. I might tackle the registry update later. Thank you very much. |
#7
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Filetype blocked by registry setting
On Thu, 2 Apr 2009 12:01:25 -0400, "Jay Freedman"
wrote: In addition to Suzanne's pointers to the better KB articles, I'd like to correct a misapprehension. You wrote I find this action by Microsoft very unfriendly. I have been using Word since it first came out. I don't think it's my responsibility to load and resave all of my old documents every time a new release of Word comes out. That's not what's happening here. There is no need to resave the documents even once, let alone "every time a new release of Word comes out." Microsoft engineers determined that -- quoting http://support.microsoft.com/kb/938810 -- "the parsing code that Office 2003 uses to open and save the [old] file types is less secure". For reasons that the article doesn't mention, they decided to disable that code rather than rewrite it in a secure manner. They left it up to you to decide whether to take the risk -- a very small risk if you open only your own documents, but maybe a larger risk if you don't know where the old documents have been. Perhaps there is no *requirement* to resave old documents, but if you don't, you may not be able to open them without spending a couple of hours chasing down obscure KB links and possibly corrupting the registry. I agree that the chase 'round the barn to find the right KB article is pretty poor, but it is a one-time thing. It's a one-time thing for *this* problem, but these problems come up way too often. Each one is a one-time thing. Without this group and the MVPs, the problem would be many times worse. It's criminal that the MVPs aren't getting paid while Microsoft racks up billions in profits. ;-) |
#8
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Filetype blocked by registry setting
On Thu, 02 Apr 2009 12:07:40 -0700, Sesquipedalian Sam
wrote: [snip] They left it up to you to decide whether to take the risk -- a very small risk if you open only your own documents, but maybe a larger risk if you don't know where the old documents have been. Perhaps there is no *requirement* to resave old documents, but if you don't, you may not be able to open them without spending a couple of hours chasing down obscure KB links and possibly corrupting the registry. I've already agreed that the KB in this case is in bad shape. Hint for next time: Google or Live Search often does a better job of indexing the KB than the MSDN site does. Paste the exact wording of an error message into the search box, and you'll usually come up with the right article. That "easily corrupted registry" thing is another myth I'd like to bust. :-) I work with the registry almost daily and have never corrupted one. You really have to be ham-handed to cause the kind of damage that prevents the computer from booting. I have a philosophical dislike of the idea that it's a single point of failure, but the registry isn't a fragile flower, either. I agree that the chase 'round the barn to find the right KB article is pretty poor, but it is a one-time thing. It's a one-time thing for *this* problem, but these problems come up way too often. Each one is a one-time thing. Really? Do you have some specifics about this "way too often"? I'd have trouble coming up with more than a mere handful over the last decade. But maybe my definition of a problem differs from yours. Without this group and the MVPs, the problem would be many times worse. It's criminal that the MVPs aren't getting paid while Microsoft racks up billions in profits. ;-) Well, there I agree wholeheartedly! -- Regards, Jay Freedman Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all may benefit. |
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