[Solved] Openoffice documents open with wordpad

[chrisardy]

When I click on an openoffice document it opens in wordpad!! If I right click on it to request it to open with another program, Openoffice does not appear and even with the browse option I can't work out how to put Openoffice in the options. I would appreciate some help on what should be a simple matter.

[thomasjk]

Click Start-->Default Programs--->Set Your Default Programs. Select Openoffice-->Choose Defaults for this program. Select all the file extensions for which you wish to make OOo the default.

[chrisardy]

Thanks for your reply but when I do this openoffice does not appear in the list of programs and I can't see any way of getting it there.
Would be grateful for any other ideas.

[RoryOF]

I'm not on a windows computer so cannot check, but I have a memory that at the bottom of the application selection window there i s a choice of "Some other application". Open that and manoeuvre to /Programs /Open Office /Programs and select soffice.exe or swriter.exe. (exact wordings may differ)

[thomasjk]

Thanks for your reply but when I do this openoffice does not appear in the list of programs and I can't see any way of getting it there.
Would be grateful for any other ideas.

Does Openoffice appear if you click Start-->All Programs-->Openoffice? If not you do not have it installed correctly. Does it appear Start-->Control Panel-->Programs and Features. If so right click on the entry and select Repair. Follow the prompts to repair the installation.

If you don't find OOo in either place it is not installed. Download and install the latest version from http://www.openoffice.org/download/.

[Bill]

I agree with thomasjk. If ODT documents open with Wordpad (that's the default in Windows 7) and OpenOffice doesn't appear on the Start Menu or in the list of default programs, then OpenOffice isn't properly installed.

[chrisardy]

Thanks for all your help I have now managed to sort it by going into the associate file type page and going right down in the open office folders until I found the .exe program. Thanks again much appreciated.

[tnitemare]

Mine is installed in Program Files {x86) folder, so I am unable to even put it in the list to choose the default program to open it with.
Do I need to uninstall and reinstall into the Program Files folder?
One more question, It states that OpenOffice 3 is also still installed on my pc. Do I need to uninstall that too? I didn't have this problem until I tried to update OO PLEASE HELP!

UPDATE: OK DUH!
I figured out the problem. For anyone having this same problem, I was trying to add soffice.exe to the list. You can't. You have to add the specific type of file to the list. Go into Program Files (x86)/Open Office 4/program/ then choose one of the other .exe files (example, Open Office Writer (write.exe) opens .odt files like word opens a .doc file). Choose one of those depending on the file type you are trying to open. If you have a spreadsheet, choose the "Open Office Math" file, or math.exe. Same goes for the rest, not sure of the others because I haven't tried them yet. There's also base.exe or "Open Office Base" which I have not tried yet. This was the only way I could associate my .odt file to open with OO 4.1. Good luck.