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Michael Plog - 28 Jun 2007 16:20 GMT

I don't know if this is the correct newsgroup; if not, please direct me.

I don't use Explorer for my web browser. My Word menu ...Tools > Options >
General > Web Options... does not give me any option except different
versions of Explorer. How can I turn this feature off so a click on a URL
will use my default browser?

Thanks in advance for your help.

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Jay Freedman - 28 Jun 2007 17:42 GMT

> I don't know if this is the correct newsgroup; if not, please direct
> me.
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> Thanks in advance for your help.

That option doesn't control which browser is used to launch a URL. It does
control the kind of HTML that's generated when you save a Word document as a
web page (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HP030783361033.aspx).

If you click a URL in a Word document and it tries to launch Internet
Explorer instead of your default browser, something is wrong with the
configuration in your registry. It should be using the program listed in the
key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\htmlfile\shell\open\command.

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Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

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Michael Plog - 29 Jun 2007 05:03 GMT

Thanks for the information Jay, but now I'm confused. When I look in the
registry, I see
"Internet Explorer/iexplore.exe" in the registry.

However, when I check Firefox (Tools > Options > Main), it has a place to
check and see if it is the default browser on startup. When checked, it
says Firefox is already set as the default. So, how can I change the
registry without screwing up other things. Should not my selection of
Firefox have changed the registry? Why would it revert back to Explorer? I
did get an update for Windows that had Explorer updates. Could that have
done it?

>> I don't know if this is the correct newsgroup; if not, please direct
>> me.
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> configuration in your registry. It should be using the program listed in
> the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\htmlfile\shell\open\command.

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Jay Freedman - 29 Jun 2007 14:40 GMT

I suppose it's possible that an IE update changed the setting -- it has
happened before, although I think it's more a matter of oversight than
deliberate sabotage. You can check which is the real default browser by
double-clicking any HTML file on your local drive and seeing which program
opens it.

It's also quite possible that I'm wrong about which registry entry controls
handling of hyperlinks, which are not exactly the same as HTML files. There
are a number of other registry entries that could be involved, for example

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\HTTP\shell\open\command
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\HTTPS\shell\open\command

Also, these and the HTML entry are copies of the corresponding ones under
the starting entry HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT; changing one should change the other.

As a last comment, if you're uncomfortable working in the registry, don't.
While it's quite possible to make registry changes safely if you know what
you're doing, it's also possible to make an unrecoverable mistake. If you're
moderately confident in your abilities, follow the instructions at
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756.

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Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

> Thanks for the information Jay, but now I'm confused. When I look in
> the registry, I see
[quoted text clipped - 31 lines]
>> Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
>> newsgroup so all may benefit.

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Michael Plog - 29 Jun 2007 15:20 GMT

Jay,
Thanks for the assistance. This is a strange situation. When I look at
your FAQ site, below, I get it in Firefox. This normally happens in email,
and I never thought much of it. When I click on a HTML file on my hard
drive, I get Explorer. When I click on a link in Word, I get Explorer.
Strange, eh? I think it is time to contact Firefox and let them tell me
what to do, perhaps re-install the software. While I am no novice, I am
hesitant to mess around with registry keys under Windows. Thanks again for
your patience. You have been very helpful.

>I suppose it's possible that an IE update changed the setting -- it has
>happened before, although I think it's more a matter of oversight than
[quoted text clipped - 55 lines]
>>> Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
>>> newsgroup so all may benefit.

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Graham Mayor - 30 Jun 2007 05:44 GMT

Right click an html file in Windows Explorer, select open with .... Select
Choose Program ... Choose the browser application you want to open html
files with and check the 'always open with this application' check box. Does
that fix it?

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<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com
Word MVP web site http://word.mvps.org
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

> Jay,
> Thanks for the assistance. This is a strange situation. When I look
[quoted text clipped - 72 lines]
>>>> Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
>>>> newsgroup so all may benefit.

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Michael Plog - 30 Jun 2007 11:37 GMT

Graham,
Well, that provided HALF the solution! Thanks very much. Now, when I click
an html file on my hard drive, it opens in Firefox. When I click a url link
in a Word document, it still opens in IE. So, we have links from email,
hard drive files, and web pages opening in Mozilla. For fun, I tried a url
link in Word Pad, and it refused to open anything.

Thanks for the attempt; I'll keep trying to change that Tools > Options >
General > Web Options. So far, I've found no way to modify the list they
give you.

> Right click an html file in Windows Explorer, select open with .... Select
> Choose Program ... Choose the browser application you want to open html
[quoted text clipped - 77 lines]
>>>>> Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
>>>>> newsgroup so all may benefit.

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