Why is Excel opening text documents?

troubledshooter

Senior member
Aug 17, 2000
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I'm a lifetime mac user recently gone 2k, and a friend of mine has got MS Excel opening .txt documents under win98. Where can you change that?


thanks a bunch
-gl
 

reicherb

Platinum Member
Nov 22, 2000
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Open Windows Explorer. View/Folder Options/File Types goto txt and change it to word.
 

smith462

Junior Member
Sep 30, 2000
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Apparently your friend tried to open a .txt file, chose Excel to open it with because maybe he didn't know what to choose, and didn't realize when he made that choice that there is a block that is checked by default that says something like "Use this to open all files of this type".

The shorter answer and the solution is this:

Highlight that file (you know what I mean; put the cursor on filename until it turns blue)
Hold the Shift key down and right click on mouse
Select "Open with..."
There is a block that opens up that allows you to choose what you want to open the file with. Make the selection and you might want to check that other selection that says something like "open all files of this type with this program"
It occurs to me after typing all this that u said .txt file. I don't rightly know what to open a .txt file with. If it is a Word document then use Winword and see how that works.

The difference between right-clicking on a document name andholding shift key down and right clicking is that holding the shift key gives you that "Open with..." option.
 

syf3r

Senior member
Oct 15, 1999
673
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if it's a .txt file you'd want to set the "open with..." to notepad.exe since notepad is the default .txt viewer... (similar to simpletext on your mac)

-syf3r.
 

smith462

Junior Member
Sep 30, 2000
13
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I hear you. I post the way I do because I'm not real computer-smart and don't really know "the language", and to keep my thoughts straight! I have to write so that I can understand myself. I'm sure it's irritating to others. Sorry 'bout that!

Some would also sometimes say that if you asked me the time, I would tell you how to build a watch factory.