The File Open dialog box does not automatically select the first available document in an Office program

You click File and then click Open to bring up the Open dialog box in a Microsoft Office program, such as Microsoft Office Word 2003 or Microsoft Office Word 2007. When you do this, the program does not automatically select the first available document that is listed in the Open dialog box. Additionally, the Open button is unavailable.

This behavior occurs because the AutoSelect feature is disabled in Microsoft Office 2003 and in the 2007 Microsoft Office programs.

Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall the operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.
To resolve this behavior, you must create a Windows Registry value and then set the value to zero.
Follow these steps, and then quit Registry Editor:

1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
2. Locate and then click the following key in the registry:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Common\Open Find
3. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
4. Type DisableAutoSelect, and then press ENTER.
5. On the Edit menu, click Modify.
6. Type 0, and then click OK.

Note When this fix is enabled, the Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) code that uses the SelectedItems property will function as expected.

This behavior is different from earlier versions of Office because if the AutoSelect feature is enabled in the Open dialog box, and you view a folder on a network share that contains many files and folders, you may experience a delay of two to five minutes before the Open dialog box is populated and the first available Office 2003 document is selected.

For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: