How to set Office file-saving preferences

Save files as docx, not Notepad format

By Chris Byers | PC Advisor | 16 April 10

QUESTION: During the upgrade process from XP to Windows 7 Professional, I have somehow altered my preferences to save Word documents in Notepad format rather than .docx. Documents now open in Notepad automatically and display computer programming language. Despite backing up my PC before I upgraded, a scheduled backup has since written over this. Rick Conway

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Don't worry, you shouldn't need to reinstall Microsoft Office to get your file-saving preferences back, Rick. All the formatting information and hidden data in your Word documents is being exposed by Notepad and displayed as ASCII or Unicode.

You should be able to right-click on a Word file, choose 'Opens with' and, under Choose Program, select Microsoft Word.

Tick 'Always use the selected program to open this kind of file'.

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