Help Please: IT Not Engineering

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

I have received an announcement of arrangements for a particular event… encrypted by the name.docx format.

I cannot use it! I had a spate of problems several years ago with .docx (‘Word’-based) and .xlsx (‘Excel’-based) files but this is the first I have met since, so I thought the formats had disappeared. As they damn’ well should.

 

So….

How do I open them, please?

I cannot find anything in the standard WIN-11 / MS-Office ‘software’.

Do I need rent special software as for converting .pdf files to editable form? (Those needed Adobe at a very expensive “subscription”). I cannot justify that for very rare use.

Is my ‘Office’ set, written for Windows XP, too old for these obscure file locks?

.

Trying to use Notepad, the only option Windows offers, jams the programme with a comment about “not responding” and sending an error message to Microsoft. Presumably MS invented this “.aaax” file-type, so why one its own programmes cannot handle, and regard as a fault?

This is how “Word” displays that .docx file, adding a further fomat (.xml) but unfortunately I am not fluent in Elbonian:

 

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

.docx is the usual suffix for Microsoft Word documents and should open OK.

If you don’t have Word then you can probably still open it in the same way an excel file can be opened without paying for Excel by letting it open in Onedrive.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

This … from a reasonably innocent third-party … is a helpful description:

https://www.lenovo.com/gb/en/glossary/docx/

 

MichaelG.

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

The X suffix indicates that the document markup is in “xml” which is actually a widely accepted standard. It isn’t encrypted.

docx documents can as has been indicated be opened in lots of other programs.  If you download LibreOffice it should open it fine if you don’t want to upgrade your Office suite.  LibreOffice is a good replacement for MS365 for most purposes.  With the retirement of Win10 and MS forcing an upgrade to Win11+AI bloatware quite a lot of people (me included) are thinking hard about ditching Microsoft altogether.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

As docx has been a mainstream Microsoft Word file format since 2007, almost anything modern should open it!  It isn’t “obscure”.   Most likely problem is an out-of-date computer or word processor.

Try installing FREE LibreOffice.   The 32-bit Windows version might be needed, if the computer is ancient.

OR

an online converter.  (also FREE)

Notepad isn’t a word processor!  It’s a text editor mainly used for programming and similar, where the source file does not support tables, paragraphs, sections, headings, footnotes, pagination, columns, embedded objects and other complications. docx is a full-on Word Processing format.

Microsoft make life a little complicated.  They want customers to buy their software, but an operating system that doesn’t have basic support for common files annoys customers, who then discover alternatives like LibreOffice.  So Windows may or may not come with some sort of capability, possibly provided by the cloud.  Windows computers might be sold with full Word bundled in, or nothing at all!  What’s available is a commercial decision; it changes, and isn’t consistent.   Mostly a problem for folk who don’t upgrade or buy full versions.   What to do is explained on the web, but wading through it to find relevant answers is a pain!

Dave

 

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

You might also consider tryin to open the document in a web browser…

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Thank you for the various suggestions.

AH – I found a way, by sheer chance I think, following John’s hint about using the browser. The attachment had three anonymous dots that proved the key.

…

My PC is not out-of-date but I encountered the same problem at work where the desk computers and their servers were all up-to-date and maintained by a dedicated IT section.

Word cannot open these things, sent as e-post attachments. Nor does Excel open its versions.

Notepad was what Windows suggested! I knew if it worked at all the result would be a single wodge of text,  perhaps with line breaks in strange places. It did offer two alternatives: Firefox (yes I use that) and other MS “applications” that simply revealed a great long list of software advertisements, including one that allows you to turn conventional files into xml form. (It did not say “or vice-versa”).

These files might not be encrypted as GCHQ might use the term, but they may just as well be unless you know the trick.

 

Finding information or instructions on-line is becoming a right pain, and the larger and closer to IT and telecommunications the enquiry, the less communicative the companies are!

[Nigel Graham 2]

On Nigel Graham 2 Said:

…

My PC is not out-of-date but I encountered the same problem at work where the desk computers and their servers were all up-to-date and maintained by a dedicated IT section.

Word cannot open these things, sent as e-post attachments. Nor does Excel open its versions.

 

Strange.  docx is a common file type, and it should “just work”.   Most likely reason it doesn’t is an out-of-date computer or application.  Not that here though, plus Nigel can’t open docx at home or at work, so we’re looking for something unusual.  The common factors are Nigel (possible operator error), and, maybe, the way the docx are “sent as e-post attachments”.

Attachments could be hitting a problem with the way Windows identifies the application needed to open them.  Mostly done by associating the file suffix with a list of installed applications.  Associations are mostly set-up automatically when applications are installed, but sometimes they have to be added manually.  Association works well with File Explorer, but might not on a file stored as an email attachment, where the email client has to do the needful.

Try saving the attachment and then opening it via File Explorer.  If that fails, ask for help at work.  A colleague might do, otherwise make that IT Department earn their keep!  May be as simple as missing out a step.

By the way, don’t assume work computers are up-to-date!  There are several good reasons why an IT Department might deliberately delay upgrades.

Dave

 

 

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

I can’t ask at work – I retired nearly 10 years ago!

My first battles with these things came when trying to send material relating to my work pensions back and forth… oh, and the odd change-wheel spreadsheet or two that had whiled away a lunch-break or so. I also met them when on the committee of my model-engineering club, and reports from other officers arrived in all sorts of styles and formats!

It does look as if your suggestion about the attachment’s nature is nearest because I found eventually the key was some anonymous dots on the attachment notification.

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

You can download free converters, such as Doxillion, or Pixillion which will convert various formats to others.

It may be that the download is only available for a relatively short time, or has to certified as only for domestic use (rather than commercial)

Howard

[Nigel Graham 2]

On Nigel Graham 2 Said:

I can’t ask at work – I retired nearly 10 years ago!

…

Then why say “I encountered the same problem at work where the desk computers and their servers were all up-to-date and maintained by a dedicated IT section.“?

What happened at work is a red-herring!  Different time and a different computer system.  And I’m confused at the best of times!

🙂

Dave

 

[Adrian R2Participant @adrianr2]

Is the person who created this file competent and known to you? It is possible to give a file two (or more) extensions so that it is not what it seems, e.g. “myfile.docx.txt” – a default installation of Windows will hide the extensions it knows about so in the example it looks like a docx to you but will be processed as a text file by the computer. This can cause confusion and also be expoited by bad actors.

Assuming you trust the sender, try (if you haven’t already) starting Word and/or Wordpad first and then opening the file from there. You may have to adjust the dialog box filter to “all files” to find it.

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

I think the sender was likely more Internet-savvy than me! 🙂

I did try using Word, though not Wordpad. I don’t think that’s even on my computer.

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