When i create a word document and save it the shortcut doesnt work. Ex: if i save a document to my desktop, then double click the desktop icon i get a blank (grey) screen. Not a blank word document. if i open word and got to that document it opens up fine. also if i use windows explorer to find the document and double click i get the blank screen. the only way i can open is thru word itself.

Check the file type association: In Windows Explorer, select 'Tools -> Options -> File Types', locate the word files, check if they are associated with Word correctly.

Files type says:
DOC Word Document
i didnt go into the advanced option because i wouldnt know what to do with it.

I have a similar problem. I save a word document to the desktop, then try to open it and what I get is the "open with" window, that does not include MSWORD as an option. I can open the document from within word, but not from the shortcut

soccerball: your problem is definitely file type association problem, just follow my post above.