How to Choose Microsoft Word as the Default Program in Windows 10?

• Set Microsoft Word As Default Windows 10
• How To Set Microsoft Word As Default Program
• Set Microsoft Word As Default Mac
• Set Microsoft Word As Default Windows 7

In today's tutorial, we will teach you how to set a default font in Word 2019.Open Microsoft Word. Right-click on the empty space in the Word document. Nov 07, 2018 Set Word as default from the context menu. Step 1: Right-click on a file (file type) for which you would like to set Word as the default program, click Open with, and click Choose another app. Step 2: Check Always use this app to open this file type option. Select Word if it’s being shown. If not, click More apps to see Word program in the list.

When you double-click a document, does it automatically open in Wordpad? This software program may be useful for basic text processing, but its features are not as comprehensive as what Microsoft Word offers. We won’t be surprised if you ask, “How can I make Word the default program instead of Wordpad?” In this post, we are going to show you different ways to set Microsoft Word as the default program for opening documents in Windows 10.

How to Set Microsoft Word as my Default Document Program

After adding Microsoft Word on your computer, its installer will automatically set it as the default program for certain types of files. However, even if it supports other file types, Word will not be set as the default program for them. For example, Word can process PDF files, but Microsoft Edge is likely the program that automatically opens them.

Set Microsoft Word As Default Windows 10

If you want to know how to set Microsoft Word as the default program for launching certain types of files, check out our tips below.

First Method: Set Defaults by App

1. Go to the taskbar and right-click the Windows icon.
2. Select Settings from the list.
3. Click Apps.
4. Go to the left pane, then choose Default Apps from the list.
5. Click the ‘Set defaults by app’ link. Doing so will allow you to see all the installed programs and apps on your computer.
6. Scroll down until you see Microsoft Word. Select the software program, then click the Manage button.
7. You will be directed to another page where you’ll see all the file extensions that Word supports. You will also see the default program for each file type.
8. To change the default program for a file extension, click the program name beside it. Choose Word from the options, then set it as the default program.

Second Method: Choose Default Apps by File Type

1. On your keyboard, press Windows Key+S.
2. Now, inside the Search box, type “Settings” (no quotations), then hit Enter.
3. Select Apps.
4. Click Default Apps on the left-pane menu, then go to the right pane and click the ‘Choose default apps by file type’ link.
5. In the new page, you will see the file types and the programs associated with them. To select Word as the default program for a specific file type, click the program’s icon or the + sign next to it. Choose Word from the options.

Third Method: Setting Word as the Default Program from the Context Menu

1. Right-click the file you wish to use Word as the default program for.
2. Select Open With from the options, then click Choose Another App.
3. Remember to select the box beside ‘Always use this app to open this file type.’
4. Choose Word if you can see it in the available options. If you do not see it, click More Apps. Click OK as the default program for the file type you chose.

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Last updated: September 2020

Applicable to the following Office versions: 2019, 2016, 2013, 365; on Windows 7, 8 and Windows 10.

Here’s a question we received from one of our readers:

“I’ve just installed a new version of Office 365 in my system but it’s clearly not defined as the default program for viewing and edition my Office files. After the installation, all my documents, workbooks and presentations are showing up in the Windows File Explorer as unknown file types. Can you help me to define Office 365 as the file opener for Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Visio files over older Office versions?”

Thanks for the question. In this post we will learn how to set your new Office version (be it 2016, 365 or 2019) as default for the Microsoft Office files types you just mentioned above.

Office 2016 as default program instead of older versions

Windows allows us to associate the newer Office version to all relevant files by executing a Quick Repair action from the Control panel. Steps are described below:

How To Set Microsoft Word As Default Program

• Open the Control Panel in your system and click Programs and Features.

• Search and check on Microsoft Office 2016.
• Click on it and hit Change present at the top.

• Check on Quick repair to fix the issues and select Repair.

Office 365 as default

If you are using Office 365 on your Windows 10 computer, proceed as following:

• Hit the Windows button at the left hand side of your taskbar.
• Type Control Panel and hit Enter.
• Then select Programs.
• Then Select Programs and Features.
• Then highlight the Microsoft 365 entry as shown below.

• Now hit Change.
• Then hit Repair.
• Wait that the repair process is over, your files should now be opening with Office 365 by default.

Additional Option:Setting defaults in Windows 10

Note: You can execute the steps above in Windows 10 using the Default apps screen. Here’s how you do it:

• Hit the Search Windows magnifying glass icon (located at the left hand side of your task bar).
• In the search box, type ‘Default’; and select Choose a default app…
• Then for each known/relevant file type, select the default opening app.

If all the above mentioned techniques didn’t help, you might need to try the manual method specified below.

Set your default programs/apps manually

Setting Excel 2016 / 365 as default spreadsheet program:

• Right click on any .xlsx file in your computer, then go ahead and select Open with and select Choose another app.

• Click on Excel 2016 and check on Always use this app to open .xlsx files.

• Now you can see that all .xlsx files default program is set to Excel 2016.

Note: In case that you are using Office 365, you’ll have the following option available in right hands side menu:

Note: Using a similar procedure, will allow you to make Excel the default program for csv, Google Sheets, Open Office.

Word 2016 / 365

If Microsoft Word 2016 is not your default program for opening documents proceed as following:

• Right click on the .docx file, move over open with and select Choose another app.

• Click on Word 2016 and check on Always use this app to open .docx files.

• Now you can see that all .docx files default program is set to Word 2016.

PowerPoint

If PowerPoint 2016 doesn’t open your presentations, proceed as following:

• Right click on the .pptx file, move over open with and select Choose another app.

• Click on PowerPoint 2016 and check on Always use this app to open .pptx files.

• That’s it , You are all set.

Set Microsoft Word As Default Mac

Additional notes:

Set Microsoft Word As Default Windows 7

• There might be cases, mainly around compatibility with older file formats, in which you might want to leaver the older Office versions (2010 and older) as default.
• There might be cases in which Word, Powerpoint or Excel 2016, will not be listed in the default program list. If that’s the case immediately after you have installed the new version, you might want to restart your computer and re-check. If there is still an issue, you might need to re-run the installation program.
• Compatibility issues might arise when trying to open Microsoft Office files in Open Office, Libre and Google Docs.