How do i change my settings so that a file automatically opens in Office Word

Question

I am using Firefox as my search engine and when I open files it used to ask me if it was ok to open them in Office Word. It used to open them perfectly. I guess I clicked something wrong and now the files open automatically in Microsoft Works Word Processor. How can I change it back to open then files automatically in Office Word?

Answer 1

There are a few different possibilities when Firefox doesn't handle downloads automatically.
First, can you check the Options dialog to make sure Firefox saved your preference?
"3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Options > Applications
It takes some time for the list to load... then in the search box above the list type '''word''' to filter it down to the entries for Word documents. Do these show that you want to Open with MS Word?
If those check out but Firefox isn't doing it, there are two possibilities:
(1) Website might be using a generic content type header.
Firefox doesn't actually inspect the document or check the file extension. Instead, it relies on the server to send a content type such as "application/msword" to look up the proper handling. If the server just says this is a binary file of non-specific type, then Firefox always prompts you for instructions.
If this is the problem, then you would find that Firefox sometimes handles Word documents correctly and sometimes doesn't depending on the site.
(2) Download handler settings file might be corrupted.
The longer you have Firefox, the more likely that extra lines will creep into this file and potentially cause conflicting instructions. You can rename the file and have Firefox generate a fresh one.
Open your current Firefox settings (AKA Firefox profile) folder using either
* "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Troubleshooting Information
* (menu bar) Help > Troubleshooting Information
* type or paste about:support in the address bar and press Enter
In the first table on the page, click the "Show Folder" button. This should launch a separate window listing files and folders.
Leaving that window open, switch back to Firefox and Exit, either:
* "3-bar" menu button > "power" button
* (menu bar) File > Exit
Pause while Firefox finishes its cleanup, then rename '''mimeTypes.rdf''' to something like mimeTypes.old
Start Firefox back up again and it should create a new settings file with default settings. Any improvement on the next download or two?