MacOFF: Double-Clicked File Opens in Latest Office Version Instead of Version That Created File

When you double-click a Microsoft Office file, the file may try to open in a Microsoft Office v. X program, regardless of the version of Office in which the file was created, or the version of Mac OS that you are running.

To use Microsoft Word, your computer must be running Mac OS X 10.1 or later. For more information, see the Microsoft Word Read Me.

For example, if you create a file in Microsoft Word X for Mac while you are running Mac OS X, and you then try to open the file while you are running Mac OS 9.0, Word X for Mac tries to open the file, even though Word X does not run on Mac OS 9.0.

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If you create a file in Microsoft Word 2001 for Mac, and you then double-click the file while you are running Mac OS 9.0, Word X for Mac tries to open the file.

This problem occurs on systems on which Mac OS 9.0, Mac OS X, Microsoft Office 2001 for Mac, and Microsoft Office v. X for Mac are installed. You may have this configuration if you want to use Office 2001 in Mac OS 9.0, and Office X in Mac OS X.

To work around this problem, start the Office program in the version of Mac OS that you want to work in, before you double-click the Office file.

When you double-click a file, your Macintosh computer tries to locate a program with a matching signature. If it finds a match, the computer opens the program and tries to open the file. If more than one program is found, the file is opened in the latest version of the program that was installed, because this version has the most current signature.