How do I get Word documents on the web to show up in Word, rather than my browser?

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Summary: By default Word and other documents are displayed within IE rather than in an instance of the application. It's an easy setting to change, once found.

This actually applies to many document types including Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more. The common default behavior for those documents on the web is to open up within your browser. For casual surfing that may be enough but if you're like me you're more comfortable with those documents within their native applications. The good news is that for most document types it's a quick and easy fix.

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These instructions assume Windows XP but other versions of Windows are very similar if not identical in most steps.

• Fire up windows explorer (I like using WindowsKey-E as a quick shortcut or right-click on "My Computer" and select "Explore").
• Select the Tools menu
• Click on Folder Options
• Click on the File Types tab.
• In the list of Registered File Types scroll down to the file extension that corresponds to the application you want to change. For example ".doc" for Word documents.
• Click on the Advanced button.
• Deselect the checkbox Browse in Same Window.
• Press OK and repeat for any other document types you wish.

Occasionally you will encounter document types for which the Browse in Same Window option is grayed. In this case you should check the application associated with that document type for an equivalent option. Adobe Acrobat is one example on my system. If you fire up Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader it has its own option Display PDF in Browser that you can turn off.

Article C1863 - November 22, 2003