OFF2000: HTML File Opens in Another Office Program

When you type or paste a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) path in the File name box in the Open dialog box (on the File menu) and click Open or press ENTER, the file opens in an Office program other than the one you are currently using. In addition, if you type the URL in the File name box and click the Open arrow, the Open in <program> (where <program> may be Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, or Microsoft PowerPoint) option is unavailable (dimmed).

For example, if you attempt to open a file by typing a URL path similar to the following in the File name box of the Open dialog box: and click Open or press ENTER, the file opens in FrontPage rather than Word.

The Open in <program> option is not available when you click the Open arrow if you attempt to open a file on a Web site by specifying the URL path. This option is available if you view the files in the directory and select the file you want to edit.

HTML files created in Office 2000 programs include a META tag that identifies the program used to create the file. For example, the following code indicates that Microsoft FrontPage 2000 was used to create the page: By default, Office 2000 programs look at this META tag and open the file in the program in which it was created. Word and other Office programs give you the option of opening the file in the current program rather than the creator program if you view the directory. However, when you specify a URL path to the file and do not view the directory contents, this option is unavailable (dimmed).

NOTE: If the program used to create the file is not installed on your computer, the file opens in the program from which you are trying to open the file.

Method 1: If You Can View the Files in the Directory on the Server

Open the folder containing the file you want to edit, select the file, click the Open arrow and then click Open in <program>, where <program> may be Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, or Microsoft PowerPoint.

Method 2: If You Cannot View the Files in the Directory on the Server

Contact your server administrator and ask for permissions to see the file directory. When you can view the file directory, select the file in the Open dialog box, click the Open arrow, and then click Open in Microsoft <program>, where <program> may be Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, or Microsoft PowerPoint. If this is not an option, edit the file in the creator application.

For additional information about working around this problem in Microsoft Word, please click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: