[ANN] "Dbl-Click Won't Open..." Issues
CyberTaz
& Office groups.
The problem some of you have been experiencing whereby a file received via
email refuses to open when double-clicked has been traced to email and/or
web browser software mishandling the file sometime during its life cycle.
Apparently certain programs of those types modify a key identifier in MS
Office files which the 2008 apps require in order to be activated & open a
file when it's double-clicked .
Although identity of the software hasn't been identified, MacBU is working
with the developers to resolve the situation. In the meanwhile there is no
"fix". However, there are 2 *simple* workarounds which I have tested on
problem files forwarded to me by participants in the Word group. (I've not
tried any Excel or PPt files but would expect the same results.) Most
importantly, I have found them to be 100% effective here on both a PPC
running Tiger 10.4.11 with Office 12.1 as well as an Intel MacBook Pro
running Leopard 10.5.0 with the same Office 12.1 update.
The steps are as follows:
Method A:
Use file> Open to open the file, then Save As to create a new copy. This, of
course leaves you with the bad copy which still has to be disposed of, so
you may prefer to use...
Method B:
1. Use the app's File> Open command to open the file,
2. Make a minor change in the file [such as typing a <space>] then edit the
change back to what it was if you wish. NOTE: Do Not UNDO to remove the
change that was made - it's important that the document be "dirtied".
3. Save the file (Save As is not necessary in this case).
Using either method the resulting file should be "double-clickable" from
that point on.
I certainly can't guarantee that it will be 100% effective for everyone, but
based on my experience it should suffice until the cause of the problem is
resolved. If it doesn't work for you there may be other factors involved.
Should that be the case please submit a NEW message in the appropriate
group(s) & give all particulars... The existing threads on this subject have
been abused to the point that they can't be navigated with any degree of
accuracy. If you stick further replies within them they may never be found.
Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac
Steve Maser
<onlygen...@com.cast.net> wrote:
> Although identity of the software hasn't been identified, MacBU is working
> with the developers to resolve the situation. In the meanwhile there is no
> "fix".
Not to hijack this, but why can't MS return to the code that is part of
12.0.1 that didn't break this and issue that as an immediate (well, not
really expected, but RSN?) 12.1.1 hotfix?
I have Word/Excel documents going back 10+ years that won't
double-click-open any longer. So whatever "key identifier
modifications" e-mail programs did -- they've been doing it for a
decade and it's *now* just wrong?
Just curious what the MacBU really has to say about that...
- Steve
CyberTaz
I don't have all the details, but I understand that a KB article will be
coming out on the issue. The best I can offer to the kernel of your 2 main
questions are that a) the changes made by the browser/email apps are the
result of fairly recent changes and b) the adjustment made in 12.1 was done
to improve file stability and correct the modification being made by those
programs - and I doubt MS is going to lower the bar to accommodate
inappropriate actions taken by a few mavericks:-)
Are you asking that these programs be allowed to continue garbling your
files and putting them at risk for the sake of "clicky" convenience?
Email apps & browsers have - IMHO - no business hacking your attachments in
any way. And it isn't "*now* just wrong"... It's *always* been wrong and I
believe it started becoming a problem with the introduction of the OOXML
file format by Office 2007. There have been flurries of this issue several
times during the last year or so. It's now been identified & addressed.
If you have docs that old - which have never been downloaded from the web or
transmitted as email attachments - but are behaving in a *similar* fashion
it may well be a somewhat different situation.
Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac
On 5/15/08 7:54 PM, in article 150520081954039431%ma...@umich.edu, "Steve
Steve Maser
<onlygen...@com.cast.net> wrote:
> Hi Steve -
>
> I don't have all the details, but I understand that a KB article will be
> coming out on the issue. The best I can offer to the kernel of your 2 main
> questions are that a) the changes made by the browser/email apps are the
> result of fairly recent changes and b) the adjustment made in 12.1 was done
> to improve file stability and correct the modification being made by those
> programs - and I doubt MS is going to lower the bar to accommodate
> inappropriate actions taken by a few mavericks:-)
>
> Are you asking that these programs be allowed to continue garbling your
> files and putting them at risk for the sake of "clicky" convenience?
>
> Email apps & browsers have - IMHO - no business hacking your attachments in
> any way. And it isn't "*now* just wrong"... It's *always* been wrong and I
> believe it started becoming a problem with the introduction of the OOXML
> file format by Office 2007. There have been flurries of this issue several
> times during the last year or so. It's now been identified & addressed.
>
> If you have docs that old - which have never been downloaded from the web or
> transmitted as email attachments - but are behaving in a *similar* fashion
> it may well be a somewhat different situation.
Playing along here...
I would buy this argument if it was one specific e-mail program causing
the issue. And, perhaps, I'd buy it if it was for files that only were
received in e-mail *since installing* the 12.1 update. But not to
affect existing documents that have already been received.
But from what I can read through these threads, there are a number of
different mail programs -- and web browsers? -- causing these problems.
Why should Safari (for example) append a <.dot> extension on a
downloaded .doc file -- only after Office 2008 is installed. It's
never a question of this happening until Office 2008 enters the
picture. Are you implying that *Safari* is inappropriately mangling
files and that the MacBU "knows better" than Apple in this instance?
And don't get me started on OOXML... ;-)
- Steve
Corentin Cras-Méneur
Hi Steve :-)
> But from what I can read through these threads, there are a number of
> different mail programs -- and web browsers? -- causing these problems.
Not all of them. I'm using OmniWeb and I don't see this.
I don;t see it either with Mail or Entourage. It really seems to be
related to what application has been used to download the file and how
it has been post-processed (I remember a similar issue a while ago under
MacOS 8 with apps messing up resource forks).
> Why should Safari (for example) append a <.dot> extension on a
> downloaded .doc file -- only after Office 2008 is installed. It's
> never a question of this happening until Office 2008 enters the
> picture. Are you implying that *Safari* is inappropriately mangling
> files and that the MacBU "knows better" than Apple in this instance?
Safari adds extensions to files which do not have one according to what
it believe is right. Apparently, Safari now believes that .doc files
have no extension but still maps them to Office and therefore adds the
.dot extension (why .dot and not .doc.... I have no clue). To me it
looks like Safari gets somethign wrong. Office might be partially faulty
too and indicate to Safari that the .dot extension is the appropriate
one though. Again, I don't see this with other browsers.
Corentin
--
--- Mac:MS MVP http://www.cortig.net/wordpress/ ---
http://www.mvps.org - http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
MVPs are not MS employees - Les MVP ne travaillent pas pour MS
Remove "NoSpam" to e-mail me - Retirez "NoSpam" pour m'écrire
Peter White
Daiya Mitchell
Office 12.0.1 may also be an option for people who want to do that,
albeit not a recommended one. If you did not backup in some way that
enables this, it would require running Remove Office and reinstalling,
then reapplying the 12.0.1 update.
You may want to look at the extensive description of 12.1 before
deciding on that option.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/952331/en-us
The 12.0.1 update is linked from the Description KB
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/948057
CyberTaz wrote:
> This message has been cross-posted to the Macintosh Word, PowerPoint, Excel
> & Office groups.
>
> The problem some of you have been experiencing whereby a file received via
> email refuses to open when double-clicked has been traced to email and/or
> web browser software mishandling the file sometime during its life cycle.
> Apparently certain programs of those types modify a key identifier in MS
> Office files which the 2008 apps require in order to be activated & open a
> file when it's double-clicked .
<snip>
Charles
"Peter White" <peter...@mac.com> wrote:
> It's not a Safari issue: I have .docs that were downloaded through Firefox,
> appear as .doc, and still don't respond to a double-click.
Yes--I have the same problem with .doc files downloaded with Camino 1.6,
in addition to files received as e-mail attachments with Eudora 6.2.4.
Charles
Daiya Mitchell
change in 12.1--the ultimate cause is an attribute of the files themselves.
It is connected to the browser or email client in use, but the files
might have been tweaked at any point in their lifetime. So switching
browser or email client use might prevent the problem with new files you
receive, but will not affect old files.
The best way to pressure MS is probably to send them direct feedback by
using Help | Send Feedback. In that way, your "vote" is counted and
tabulated. No one is systematically tracking posts on newsgroups or forums.
cha...@grouplogic.com
working
with the developers to resolve the situation
Hi All - I just wanted to post our (Group Logic/ExtremeZ-IP) findings
We found the problem opening files by double clicking in Office 2008
SP1 is related to default type/creator information given to files with
no_existing_type_creator info. When such a file is encountered (blank
type/creator) both Services for Macintosh and ExtremeZ-IP will provide
the default codes associated with .doc files. It seems as though
Office 2008 SP1 depricated the type/creator codes we have historically
associated with DOC and XLS files.
Currently, ExtremeZ-IP and Services for Macintosh use the following
values to map DOC and XLS files with blank type/creator codes:
Word: TYPE=WDBN, CREATOR= MSWD
Excel: TYPE=XLBN, CREATOR= XCEL
Office 2008 SP1 now requires:
Word: TYPE=W8BN, CREATOR= MSWD
Excel: TYPE=XLS8, CREATOR= XCEL
ExtremeZ-IP users can simply update the type/creator database (see
KB):
http://www.grouplogic.com/knowledge/index.cfm/fuseaction/view_Fix/docID/317
We will also provide the updated type/creator mappings in our next
release.
For Services For Macintosh Users you can edit the relevant registry
keys:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/102996
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services \MacFile
\Parameters\Type_Creators\
Regards,
Charles Kim - ExtremeZ-IP support
cha...@grouplogic.com
John McGhie
Yes. You are using very old Word 6 PC codes. That means the content is
expected to be non-Unicode with none of the modern structures in the file
(the old-fashioned RTF tables, WMF 8-bit graphics, etc...)
I wonder if you would have been better to leave the Type and Creator codes
blank? If the extension is correct, Word will sort it out from there :-)
Word writes the "real" data type into each file on save. It's in the file
header: in the final 500 bytes of the file. I believe that Word always
ignores the Mac file type and creator code.
Cheers
On 24/06/08 10:35 PM, in article
4bfebf2f-5538-4d87...@k30g2000hse.googlegroups.com,
"cha...@grouplogic.com" <cha...@grouplogic.com> wrote:
--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/
Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.
John McGhie, Microsoft MVP, Word and Word:Mac
Sydney, Australia. mailto:jo...@mcghie.name
cha...@grouplogic.com
> I wonder if you would have been better to leave the Type and Creator codes
> blank? If the extension is correct, Word will sort it out from there :-)
This functionality occurs with Services For Macintosh, so our type/
creator database and behavior was designed around the same concept,
adding a user interface to make whatever adjustments needed on the
fly.
On another note, I just finished testing the 12.1.1 update which
appears to also solve the problem. Note, that we still intend to
update the creator/types in the next release of our software as
planned.
Regards,
Charles Kim - ExtremeZ-IP Support