When opening a downloaded Word document, hundreds of tabs start opening in Firefox. How can I stop this happening?
I've just installed Office 2007 on my computer and have downloaded a few documents from the internet. When I try to open them Firefox goes crazy and opens browser tabs faster than I can close them, with no sign of stopping. How can I stop this happening and gain access to the downloads? Any help much appreciated!
Chosen solution
OK, solved it. It wasn't Firefox, it was Windows. Somehow it had been changed to open Word docs as browsers. I had my suspicions it wasn't Firefox as Word docs would open as browser tabs even when Firefox wasn't running. The only way to open a Word doc was if it was already on the hard drive.
For anyone who has a similar problem, this is how to correct it:
Open My Computer. On the Tools menu, click Folder Options. Click the File Types tab. In the Registered file types list, click on the file you're trying to open. In my case it was doc files. In the list this file type was shown with a Firefox icon, indicating that's what was being used to open the file. Underneath the scroll list for Registered file types the details for each file type are shown, with an option for "Opens with:" Click on the Change button to the right of this and choose which program to use in future. Click OK and close the file types dialogue box. That should solve the problem.
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Perform the suggestions mentioned in the following article:
Check and tell if its working.
Thanks, I tried everything on the page but Firefox is still opening Word documents as blank web pages. Deleting the mime file seemed to reduce this to just one tab, but if I tick the "Do this automatically" box I get the multiple tabs again.
It just seems to be downloaded Word documents. I can open files that are already on the computer once Word is open, but not files from the Downloads folder.
Perform the suggestions mentioned in the following articles:
- Resetting Download Actions
- http://kb.mozillazine.org/File_types_and_download_actions#Resetting_download_actions
Check and tell if its working.
You get that problem if you select the Firefox program to handle a file if you get an "open with" dialog.
You should never do that.
Firefox wouldn't ask if it can handle the file and you need to remove that action.
Chosen Solution
OK, solved it. It wasn't Firefox, it was Windows. Somehow it had been changed to open Word docs as browsers. I had my suspicions it wasn't Firefox as Word docs would open as browser tabs even when Firefox wasn't running. The only way to open a Word doc was if it was already on the hard drive.
For anyone who has a similar problem, this is how to correct it:
Open My Computer. On the Tools menu, click Folder Options. Click the File Types tab. In the Registered file types list, click on the file you're trying to open. In my case it was doc files. In the list this file type was shown with a Firefox icon, indicating that's what was being used to open the file. Underneath the scroll list for Registered file types the details for each file type are shown, with an option for "Opens with:" Click on the Change button to the right of this and choose which program to use in future. Click OK and close the file types dialogue box. That should solve the problem.