I cannot simply open Word documents. I am forced to save them in order to view them.
In firefox, IE, and chrome, I try to open Word documents and am forced to save them in order to view them. I do not get the box that asks whether I want to save or open (and yes, I have the option to always ask checked in my settings). When I find the document in my folders, it tells me I'm in protected view when viewing my documents. This has only started recently. The only thing new I've done to the computer recently is update firefox. However, this problem is occurring in all my browsers.
(I do not have this problem opening other files, like PDF. I still get the option to open or save with files other than Word documents.)
I have run my Sophos antivirus and have found nothing. I have suspected rookit, but hope it is less serious. I also do not wish to download any new programs in order to fix this problem.
Thank you!
All Replies (7)
Try upgrading to the most recent version of Firefox.
Try Firefox Safe Mode to see if the problem goes away. Safe Mode is a troubleshooting mode, which disables most add-ons.
(If you're not using it, switch to the Default theme.)
- On Windows you can open Firefox 4.0+ in Safe Mode by holding the Shift key when you open the Firefox desktop or Start menu shortcut.
- On Mac you can open Firefox 4.0+ in Safe Mode by holding the option key while starting Firefox.
- On Linux you can open Firefox 4.0+ in Safe Mode by quitting Firefox and then going to your Terminal and running: firefox -safe-mode (you may need to specify the Firefox installation path e.g. /usr/lib/firefox)
- Or open the Help menu and click on the Restart with Add-ons Disabled... menu item while Firefox is running.
Once you get the pop-up, just select "'Start in Safe Mode"
If the issue is not present in Firefox Safe Mode, your problem is probably caused by an extension, and you need to figure out which one. Please follow the Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems article for that.
To exit the Firefox Safe Mode, just close Firefox and wait a few seconds before opening Firefox for normal use again.
Please report back soon.
So you don't receive any popup window asking you to save or view the document? The download just begins all by itself.
NOTE: Even if you select to only view the document, since Firefox has no built in Word viewer, you'll end up downloading it anyway. The only difference is that it will be downloaded into the temporary memory of your computer.
Office showing Protected View seems to be standard at least in Word 2010... Firefox follows the IE convention of marking downloads as having come from the internet, and I think that triggers this behavior.
Does this problem occur with all sites or is it limited to particular contexts? As a test, you can use a Google search and try .DOC or .DOCX files from other sites you trust, for example:
Thank you for replying, jscher2000.
The option box DID appear when I clicked on links from your google search.
I'm having problems opening the documents from my University email (Outlook) and University community site (Canvas). My classmates are not having a similar problem, however.
I had originally thought it was a problem with firefox, but I then tried IE and Chrome. Both browsers say that the files contain virus and are deleted. However, I know for a fact the documents I am opening do not contain viruses (they are documents my classmates create and upload for coursework).
You can verify the Security tab in the Properties via the right-click context menu of the file in Windows Explorer if there is such an ADS security tag added to a file.
Do you have a Sophos extension in any of your browsers can could be generating this warning? In Firefox, you can check here:
orange Firefox button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons > in the left column click Extensions
In IE, there's a Manage Add-ons dialog somewhere.
I do not have a Sophos extension in my browsers.
Hi IvanS, did you ever try Firefox's Safe Mode, as described in the first reply above? That would deactivate all your Firefox extensions to see whether any of those is the culprit, even if the name does not give it away.
Since other browsers are affected, perhaps you are filtering your web traffic through your security software. You could try switching your connection to "No Proxy" in the following dialog and see whether it makes a difference:
orange Firefox button (or Tools menu) > Options > Advanced > Network mini-tab > Settings button