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Hi

I am trying to resolve an issue with Word 2007 not opening a document. I get this message: "There was a problem sending the command to the program". The OS is Windows 7 Pro running on a Dell 490. I have tried running in safe mode and deleting the Data entry in the registry. I have also checked for problems with Office and also did a Detect and Repair which completed successfully but the program still didn't start.

Geoff

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has already done the usual first steps (started Word in Safe Mode, deleted the Word Data registry key and ran Detect and Repair, and found Microsoft’s FixIt). Those are good diagnostics. When that sequence still leaves double‑clicking documents broken, the remaining causes are usually DDE/file‑association issues, a corrupted global template or add‑in problem, or an offending printer/Explorer extension — try the targeted checks below in order.

First, confirm Word isn’t set to ignore DDE (this is the single most common cause when double‑clicking a document shows “There was a problem sending the command to the program”). In Word 2007 open Word itself, click the Office button → Word Options → Advanced → General and make sure “Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)” is NOT checked. If Word opens but Explorer double‑click still fails, this strongly points to a DDE/file‑association problem. (learn.microsoft.com)

If that doesn’t fix it, re‑register Word so it rewrites its Open/DDE registry entries and file associations. From Run (Win+R) or an elevated command prompt run one of these (adjust the path for 32/64‑bit and your Office folder — Word 2007 usually lives under Office12):

winword /r

or

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\WINWORD.EXE" /unregserver
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\WINWORD.EXE" /regserver

After running them, try double‑clicking a document again; re‑registration often restores the broken Open/DDE wiring. (learn.microsoft.com)

If the problem persists, try these safe, non‑destructive checks: force Word to recreate the global template by renaming Normal.dotm, disable all COM add‑ins, and temporarily change the default printer to a generic driver (Microsoft XPS Document Writer) — old/outdated printer drivers (especially OEM drivers) can make Word fail during startup/open. To rename Normal.dotm (Word 2007):

ren %userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates\Normal.dotm OldNormal.dotm

Disable COM add‑ins from Office button → Word Options → Add‑Ins → Manage: COM Add‑Ins → Go and uncheck them. Back up any registry edits and test after each change so the exact cause can be identified. (support.microsoft.com)

If those still don’t help, test with a Clean Boot (to rule out third‑party software), and consider temporarily disabling Explorer preview/third‑party shell extensions (these can interfere with the Explorer→Word launch path). These steps narrow the fault quickly and are safe when done with the usual registry/file backups.

Member Avatar for ggeoff

I found this support page from Microsoft: Click Here I'd still appreciate some help with this issue. The link also includes a Fixit, so perhaps it'll work :) I'll post progress.

Member Avatar for ggeoff

I found this support page from Microsoft: Click Here I'd still appreciate some help with this issue. The link also includes a Fixit, so pergaps it'll work :) I'll post progress.

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