Attempting to open a file but then a problem.

[Balliol]

I am not technically competent and I wonder if a Microsoft service exists that I could telephone and they could take over my system and fix the problem I have.
I have a load of 3.5. discs that I wanted to look at so I bought a gadget to plug into my USB device. Some opened but others did not and they displayed the message I set out below. Last night when I was working on a recent document the same message came up when I tried to save it and that means I’m stuffed if I want to edit any document or file. Busy as I know you are could you pop in some time please.



You are attempting to open a file type (word 2 and earlier Binary Documents and Templates) that have been blocked by your file settings in the trust centre.
This error occurs when you open a Microsoft Office file blocked by File Settings in the Trust Centre. To enable this file type do the following:
Click the File type tab.
Under Help, click Options.


Click Trust Centre and then click Trust Centre Settings.
In the Trust Centre click File Block Settings.
To save documents with this file type disable the registry policy setting. For more information see Microsoft Knowledge base article 922850

I onl;y got so far butthen chickend out.

[macropod]

What the message is telling you is that those files are very old - they're in a format that's no longer supported by default for security reasons. If you're confident they don't contain anything malicious, you can:
• change the Trust Centre settings;
• open the files and save them to the newest format supported by your system (via File|Save As); then
• restore the Trust Centre settings.

As for your recent file, it sounds like you saved that in the older format ...

[Balliol]

At the end of the document titles the letters are now, “.docx” previously they were “odt” but I they used to be DOC

You said.
• change the Trust Centre settings;
• open the files and save them to the newest format supported by your system (via File|Save As); then
• restore the Trust Centre settings.


When I click onto “Save as” I’m not sure which one to select.
Open Document Text (*.odt)
Word Document (*docx)
Word macro-Enabled (*docm)
Word 97-2003 Document (*doc)
Word Template (*dotx)
PDF (*.pdf)
XPS Document (*.xps)
Single File Web Page (*.mhtml)
Web Page (*.htm;*.html)
Web Page, Filtered (*htm;*.html)
Rich Text Format (*.rtf)
Plain Text (*.txt)
Word XML Document (*.xml)
Word 2003 XML Document (*.xml)
Word 97-2003 (*.doc)
Word 2000 (*.wps)
Works 4.x (*.wps)
Works 6 – 9 Document (*.wps)
Works 6.0 & 7.0 (*.wps)
Works 7.0 (*.wps)

When I open "Save as" I see the following and am not sure which one to select.
Open Document Text (*.odt)
Word Document (*docx)
Word macro-Enabled (*docm)
Word 97-2003 Document (*doc)
Word Template (*dotx)
PDF (*.pdf)
XPS Document (*.xps)
Single File Web Page (*.mhtml)
Web Page (*.htm;*.html)
Web Page, Filtered (*htm;*.html)
Rich Text Format (*.rtf)
Plain Text (*.txt)
Word XML Document (*.xml)
Word 2003 XML Document (*.xml)
Word 97-2003 (*.doc)
Word 2000 (*.wps)
Works 4.x (*.wps)
Works 6 – 9 Document (*.wps)
Works 6.0 & 7.0 (*.wps)
Works 7.0 (*.wps)
My apologies for being so inept and using so much space.

[macropod]

At the end of the document titles the letters are now, “.docx” previously they were “odt” but I they used to be DOC

How did you effect that change? If you simply changed the extensions, that won't do the job, as the content will still be in the old format. You need to let Word open the files (with their former extensions), then use File|Save As.

Given that you're using Office XP, the native format is:
Word 97-2003 (*.doc)
You could also save as:
Word Document (*docx)
or, if the files have macros:
Word macro-Enabled (*docm)
These latter two formats are native to Word 2007 & later.

[Balliol]

How did you effect that change? I have no idea.
You need to let Word open the files (with their former extensions), then use File|Save As.
I tried that but the "You are attempting to open a file type" thing came up.
Given that you're using Office XP, the native format is:
I'm not using XP but 7
You could also save as:
Word Document (*docx) I tried that and "You are attempting to open a file type" thing came up.

[macropod]

Originally Posted by Balliol

How did you effect that change? I have no idea.

C'mon, these things don't just change of their own accord. If they changed, you did something to cause the change.

You need to let Word open the files (with their former extensions), then use File|Save As.
I tried that but the "You are attempting to open a file type" thing came up.

That's why you need to temporarily change the Trust Centre settings.

Given that you're using Office XP, the native format is:
I'm not using XP but 7

There is no such thing as Office 7. There is Windows 7 and the latest version of Office for the PC is 2010. According to your user profile - which you've set - you're using Windows XP and Office XP. If that is not correct, please update your profile to reflect the correct parameters. Having the wrong profile makes it harder for anyone to help you.

You could also save as:
Word Document (*docx) I tried that and "You are attempting to open a file type" thing came up.

Again, that's why you need to temporarily change the Trust Centre settings.