When I try to open a Word file by double clicking on it, MSWord opens up but the actual file does not open.

There is a little "ding sound", and I get the message:
"There was a problem sending the command to the program."

This problem just started and I have been messing around with it all day trying to fix it. I have tried all the "default file associations" and "specific file" assignment....nothing worked.

I uninstalled Office and reinstalled it .... Still not working.



Can someone help me get this annoying problem fixed.

Thank you so much !
Josie

Google your term "There was a problem sending the command to the program" and you will find several links that may help you.

See the replies marked as Answers in the thread at http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/o...8-0ce016641a12.

__________________
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional

Jim P and Stefan. Thanks for your replies.
I am STILL trying different "things" and nothing is freaking working.

By the way ... everything worked fine for several years until about 3 days ago.
As I read many past messages, it seems this problem has been around a long time !!!

Along with "how do I fix this" ... does anyone know what freaking caused it !!!

Thanks so much for your thoughts & help

Have you tried both looking at the compatibility settings for winword.exe and deleting the registry entries mentioned in the KB article?

Have you tried repairing Office?

What happens if you start Word in Safe mode? To start in Safe mode: Exit Word if it is running. Hold the Windows logo key as you press R; in the Run dialog box, type winword /safe and press Enter.

__________________
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional

Thanks for youre additional suggestions. Last night I found an obscure section of the Microsoft Help Area (they aren't actively supporting Office 2007 any more). There were 6-7 more highly complicated registry "diddling" options provided. I'm going try them all.

I STILL can't understand WHY my Office 2007 worked with no problems for years and all of a sudden started this mess.

I would probably bite the bullet and upgrade .... but look at all the people with Office 2013 that are having the same problem.

MICROSOFT !!!!!!! ARE YOU OUT THERE ?????

PLEASE FIX THIS !!!!

An ordinary Windows Update would be great ... Or one of your "Mr. Fixit" programs could specifically address the problem !!!

Note that this forum isn't hosted by Microsoft. At the bottom of this page it says: "MSOfficeForums.com is not affiliated with Microsoft."

Have you tried repairing Office? (It isn't clear from your response.)

Starting in Safe mode is another troubleshooting step that gives valuable information, because it temporarily reverts to factory default settings and prevents potentially problematic add-ins from loading into memory.

__________________
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional

I have reinstalled using the windows control pannel AND manually. I have started in Safe Mode and I have tried a dozen different ways of registry editing. Nothing working.
It's not that WORD 2007 doesn't work .... I just cannot double click to open Word files directly from the desktop or Explor

The other odd thing is that a as Word is not on the list of programs to select from on the Default Program screen??
But, it is available if I need to select a program for a specific file type .... It just doesn't work!!

Do yo have any other suggestions?
Do you have an opinion on Office 2013?
I'm wondering if I totally removed Office 2007 and installed 2013 if things would get fixed???

In the Default Programs window, use the Browse button to explicitly choose Word 2007. Does that help?

Other things to try:

Is there a trial version of Office 2010 or 2013 installed on the same machine (look in the Programs and Features applet in Control Panel)? In that case, uninstall it.

Try running Word with the /r swith. In the Run dialog box, type winword /r and press Enter. See what happens after the (re-)configuration has completed.

__________________
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional

no luck with anything. I"m getting ready to post a new topic regarding this issue because I have come to believe that this is NOT an Office problem .... I think it is a Windows Problem.

Thanks for all your help