To work around this problem, use one of the following
methods.
Method 1: Use a word-processing program to open the file
Use a word-processing program to manually open the file. For
example, use Microsoft Office Word. Word is included in Microsoft
Office.
To download a free trial version of Microsoft Office, visit
the following Microsoft Web site:
Method 2: Modify the registry
Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
322756 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows
Warning This workaround may make your computer or your network more
vulnerable to attack by malicious users or by malicious software such as
viruses. We do not recommend this workaround but are providing this information
so that you can implement this workaround at your own discretion. Use this
workaround at your own risk.
On a Windows XP SP2-based
computer, you can add an EnableLegacyConverters registry entry that has a DWORD
value of 1. To do this, follow these steps.
- Click Start, click Run,
type regedit, and then click
OK.
- Locate the following registry subkey:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Wordpad
- Right-click Wordpad, point to
New, and then click DWORD Value.
- Type EnableLegacyConverters, and
then press ENTER to name the new entry.
- Right-click EnableLegacyConverters, and
then click Modify.
- In the Value data box, type
1, and then click OK.
When you double-click the .rtf file that you are trying to open,
WordPad starts. After you have finished using the RTF converter, we recommend
that you turn off the EnableLegacyConverters registry entry. To do this, follow
these steps:
- In Registry Editor, right-click
EnableLegacyConverters, and then click
Modify.
- In the Value data box, type
0 to turn off the .rtf conversion, and then click
OK.
- Quit Registry Editor.