File Blocking frustration

[Wil B]

Im trying to figure out how to disable the file blocking feature in Office
2007 and Office 2003 SP3. Ive tried the registry entries outlined in Q922849
and after rebooting they are not working. Trusted locations is not an option
as my users need to be able to open documents from all over our network as
well as from Outlook email attachments (you can't enter a Temp folder in the
Trusted Locations UI). In addition, the file blocking feature doesn't seem
to be applied consistently as I have no problems with it blocking docs that I
try to open on my machine and the registry entries discussed in Q922849 are
not present in my registry.
And just to top it all off I downloaded the Office 2007 GPO templates
(because I assumed the registry entries would fix the problem) so that I
could apply the needed changes without having to go to each machine and
running a .reg file. Imagine my surprise, after adding the templates to the
GPO editior, to find everything in German. And yes, I specified English when
downloading, even tried it twice.
Can anyone give me a reliable way to disable the various Office applications
from blocking old version files?

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Use the downloadable .reg key from http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=938810

 

[Wil B]

Yeah, that has the same registry entry that I already manually entered on the
user's PC. It didn't work. And considering my personal machine doesn't have
that registry entry, yet has no problems opening older version docs, that
leads me to believe that Q938810 and Q922849 are inaccurate and that there is
another way to disable the blocking feature.

P.S. IMHO, any change like this, that can so drastically affect the way a
user is used to working should have a UI for turning it on and off.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Those of us who have used this solution or a similar one previously provided
by a Security MVP are quite happily opening documents from older versions.
If you don't want to try the downloadable key, that's your decision, but it
worked for me.

 

[Wil B]

Suzanne, I appreciate you trying to help. And Im happy that the registry
entry worked for you. Unfortunately, it's not working for me. That's the
point of my post. Ive followed the directions from Microsoft and they aren't
working.
I have now installed the Word GPO templates for both 2003 and 2007 and set
it to allow opening all the document types available and from all versions of
Word. That's not working either. I know the GPO is getting applied to the
user because some of the other settings I made work fine.
Again, Im confused as to why the registry entries that Microsoft points out
that will fix the problem do not work on the machine that has them, and on my
machine that doesn't have them, I have no problems opening older version docs.
There HAS to be something else that affects Word's ability or inability to
open older version docs besides the registry entries.

 

[Beth Melton]

I'd try deleting the manual Reg entry on the computer experiencing the issue
and then adding them back using the *.reg file provided.

So far you are the first I've heard to report this doesn't work for you so
while the entries may look the same there's always a possibility something's
not quite right with the manual entry and it doesn't hurt to try.

Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email cannot be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Coauthor of Word 2007 Inside Out:
http://www.microsoft.com/MSPress/books/9801.aspx#AboutTheBook

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

In addition to what Beth says, it's not clear from your reply that you're
actually downloading and applying the .reg file rather than following the
"directions" in the file. If you download and run the .reg file, you don't
have to do any manual editing of the Registry at all; it is all done for you
automatically.

BTW, if you perhaps printed out KB 938810, it's possible you're looking at
an outdated version. You might want to look at the current online version at
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=938810 that includes the referenced
downloads as "Method 1." Naturally, you should be sure to download the ones
named Unblock rather than RestoreBlocking!

 

[Wil B]

I now have several machines that have this problem as SP3 for Office 2003 is
getting applied, so going from machine to machine and applying a registry
entry is out of the question. As I stated in my earlier post I have
downloaded and installed the GPO templates for Office 2003 and Office 2007.
Ive set the GPO settings to not block ANY previous version files and Ive also
specified allowing Word to open all the file types available in the GPO
settings. The GPO IS getting applied to the users because of other settings
Ive made have gotten applied successfully, like Trusted Locations. However,
Word is STILL blocking opening older version files. Ive used the Trusted
Locations GPO setting to add each user's Desktop as a workaround for now but
its not a good long term solution.
Again, my personal machine does not have this registry setting applied and I
have no problems opening previous version Word docs with Word 2007. So I
still contend there HAS GOT to be something else in play here besides this
registry setting.