What is causing the ‘Word isn’t Your Default Program for Viewing and Editing Docs” prompt?
We investigated this particular issue by looking at various user reports and the repair strategies that are being deployed by affected users whenever this prompt appears. As it turns out, there are several different scenarios that might trigger this prompt every time the user tries to open a .docx document:
Method 1: Disabling the prompt from Word’s Settings
If you’re looking for the fastest fix possible, the quickest way to do it is to simply prevent Word from ever displaying the message again. But keep in mind that this will not resolve the underlying issue that is triggering the prompt – Word will still not be the default program. If you are perfectly fine with the fact that Word is not the default text editor, follow the steps below to re-configure Word to stop displaying the ‘Word isn’t Your Default Program for Viewing and Editing Docs’ prompt. Here’s a quick guide on disabling the prompt by disabling the “Tell me if Microsoft Word isn’t the default program for viewing and editing documents” option from Word’s options: If the prompt is still occurring or you’re looking for a viable fix (not a workaround), move down to the next method below.
Method 2: Changing the default app for .docx
In certain situations, this issue can also occur due to a glitch that prevents the default application for the .docx format from being changed automatically after the user does this via the prompt. In this case, you should be able to resolve the issue by accessing the Default Apps screen (from the Settings app) and modifying the default app for the .docx file type. Several affected users have reported that this procedure worked for them flawlessly on Windows 10. Although we haven’t been able to confirm this procedure on other Windows versions, it’s still worth a try if you’re on an older version. Here’s a quick guide on changing the default app for .docx: If the same error message is still occurring, move down to the next method below.
Method 3: Choosing a different text editor as the default
There’s also speculation that the issue can also occur due to a glitch that makes Windows think it’s opening a different file type. As weird as this might sound, some affected users have reported that they were able to resolve the issue by setting a different application as the default (Notepad) first, before changing the default back to Word. This can easily be done by right-clicking on the .docx file and choosing Open With… Most affected users have reported that after doing this, the file icon changed to the correct one and the ‘Word isn’t Your Default Program for Viewing and Editing Docs’ prompt is no longer occurring. Here’s a quick guide on working around the glitch that might cause this issue: If the same ‘Word isn’t Your Default Program for Viewing and Editing Docs’ prompt is still appearing, move down to the next method below.
Method 4: Repairing the office installation
Based on several different user reports, this particular issue can also occur due to file corruption inside the Office installation folder. There are a few confirmed reports where affected users have managed to resolve the issue by performing an Office installation repair. This procedure is way simpler than it sounds – the repair strategies are applied automatically. All you need to do is initial the repair procedure. Here’s a quick guide on repairing the Office installation in order to resolve the ‘Word isn’t Your Default Program for Viewing and Editing Docs’: If the same ‘Word isn’t Your Default Program for Viewing and Editing Docs’ prompt is still occurring when you open a .docx document, move down to the next method below.
Method 5: Uninstalling any other Office Suite installations
As it turns out, this continuous ‘Word isn’t Your Default Program for Viewing and Editing Docs’ prompt can also occur in situations where a computer has multiple Office installations that end up conflicting with each other. This ends up confusing Windows, which becomes unable to choose one default app from all the available office installations. Several affected users have reported that they’ve been able to resolve the issue by uninstalling the older or the unnecessary Office installation. This ended up resolving the conflict that was confusing the operating system. After doing so and restarting their PC, most affected users have reported that the ‘Word isn’t Your Default Program for Viewing and Editing Docs’ prompt stopped occurring altogether. Here’s a quick guide on uninstalling any unnecessary Office installation:
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