Bug: attached .docx does not open
Status: RESOLVED
Priority: --
Resolution: WORKSFORME
Created: 2025-02-26 11:22:41+00:00
Resolved: 2025-02-28 11:52:18+00:00

User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:135.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/135.0

Steps to reproduce:

Double-click, or right-click | Open a file with extension .docx (or .doc)


Actual results:

Nothing at all.


Expected results:

Open in Word.
Before the latest update (now 128.7.1) the file used to be copied to a temporary folder, although it was not opened as expected even then.  Now it is not even copied - a change which is odd in itself.

Bugs 845349, 1071843, 1740750 and 1784226 were similar, all resolved one way or another over time.  

I do not have trouble opening .docx (or .doc) in any other context than TB.  TB attachments as .pdf get opened in a new tab;  .xlsx opens properly in Excel, .ppt and pptx in Powerpoint; .kmz in Google Earth; .jpg and .png in my graphics program.  Broadly, no problem with anything else.

What I get in the Error console is this:
 NS_ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND: Component returned failure code: 0x80520012 (NS_ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND) [nsIMIMEInfo.launchWithFile]
So I wonder is this a problem with my machine's settings somewhere, or TB - more likely because everything else works.

Curiously, I discovered that I could DC attached files in a message being composed and they would open as above, except .doc and .docx - in which case it resulted in the message:
"[name] could not be opened, because the associated helper application does not exist. Change the association in your preferences."
- despite the Windows settings being proper.

I then tried it with a WordPerfect file and got this:
+++
You have chosen to open:
Manual.wpd
which is: WordPerfect 2020 Document (86.8 kB)
from: Manual.wpd
What should Thunderbird do with this file?
-- Open with WordPerfect 2021 (default)
-- Save File
Do this automatically for files like this from now on.
Settings can be changed in Thunderbird's Options.
+++
I then said do this always.  That message does not now reappear in the same circs.

Notice: there were NO such warning for .docx or .doc files in either of those circs (sent or received messages).  That is, one did not get a choice as to what to use to open the file, just total failure.

But now, DC in the received file gets this:
+++
This document (R:[temp path]) is in use or is specified as read-only.
You may edit the document, but you must save it with a new name. Continue?
+++
(... which is a WP warning.)  The 'always' setting has worked.  The file now is indeed marked as read-only (and not the original), and it is not already open. 

Checking the TB options I find:
Microsoft Word 97 - 2003 Document   use Word (default)
Microsoft Word Document                   use Word (default)
which looks OK - and all the others are as one would expect.

However, I thought I would see if there was a corruption and try to reset the association.  What I found was that "Use Microsoft Word" was the only relevant item in the list of possibles, so I selected that:
Microsoft word 97 - 2003 Document    Use Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word Document                    Use Microsoft Word
- now it all works properly!  (Note that I had NOT set this myself for the "default", this was automatic at some point - unaware as to how.)   
All temp files under the PID for TB are read-only (nothing else gives a warning).

There seem to be some inconsistencies in handling, and inconsistencies in messages.  It looks as though it could be made a little easier to comprehend and fix if there are no actual bugs.  However, the difference between "Word" and "Microsoft Word" is a little odd if not incomprehensible unless there is some strict parsing and the internal name has changed.  Windows itself seems to draw no distinction - either name is good in Start search.