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Why won't Firefox open Word docx documents??

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bidwin
bidwin
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When I try to open a Word docx document attached to an AOL email Firefox thinks it a binary file and won't open it. Firefox also won't let me add the file type to the Applications are in Preferences. Even after I download a docx file and open it Firefox won't add the file type to Applications, as was described in one of you "help" areas.

When I try to open a Word docx document attached to an AOL email Firefox thinks it a binary file and won't open it. Firefox also won't let me add the file type to the Applications are in Preferences. Even after I download a docx file and open it Firefox won't add the file type to Applications, as was described in one of you "help" areas.

All Replies (2)

Michal Stanke
Michal Stanke
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Hi bidwin.

Firefox recognizes the file type based on information in the HTTP protocol headers. So if the AOL servers does not indicate the file is actually a Word document, Firefox won't check the file type on it's own and behave to it as it has no type specification. The reason is, that the filename extension (.docx) is not enough to decide about the file type, and making decision base only on this can put you in danger of running malicious code.

Michal

cor-el
cor-el
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See also:

You can check the HTTP response headers with the Network Monitor or with the Live Http Headers extension.