Opening Microsoft Word files with Internet Explorer 8

Internet Explorer 8 struggles to open Microsoft Word 2010 files (those that have a .DOCX file extension). If you’re using IE8 and attempt to open documents in DOCX format, IE may try to open it as an XML file, resulting in a screen full of code like this:

Error

 

 

 

There are three potential workarounds for this:

  1. Use a different browser (Firefox, Chrome, Safari)
  2. Manually type in the correct file extension
  3. Change a setting in IE

How to manually type in the correct file extension

  • Right click the document you want to save, and choose “Save Target As.”
    save target as
  • Change the file type to “All Files.” And, change the file extension at the end of the file name so it ends in “.DOCX” This will trick your computer into saving the document as a Word file.
    change to docx

 

Please call us at 412.687.7677 if you would like assistance.