Microsoft Office 2008 messes up document types

[esaleris]

I'm not sure what Microsoft is thinking, but it does not own the *.XML extension! What total bastards!

I was browsing around the iTunes folder, and Office 2008 had, without my permission, assigned all *.XML files as "Microsoft Word Documents." That's just ridiculously annoying. It opens in TextEdit, but the principle of the matter is that it has no place to assign a generic markup document as its own.

How do you fix this? I want to go through a list of file associations and freaking remove Microsoft from the unnecessary types.

This happened in the Windows world too. Microsoft Office would create 20,000 file associations, regardless of necessity, and it was just downright annoying.

 

[MisterMe]

This issue is not limited to Microsoft. It is a weakness of any system that uses file extensions to associate applications with filetypes. Your files are not "messed up."

• Do a Get Info ([CMD] +[ i ]) on an affected .xml file.
• Go down to the Opens with: pop-up menu.
• Select the application that you want.
• Click Change all....

Be happy.

 

[esaleris]

Functionally, your idea works. But I would like to remove the document type references to "Microsoft Word Document" but instead the default XML document, with the proper icon.

How would I go about that?

 

[MisterMe]

... How would I go about that?

In my previous post, I said that this is not a Microsoft issue. It is an issue with any system that uses extensions to associate filetypes with applications. You have done all that can reasonably be done to rectify the situation. If you want to do more, then the only thing left is to uninstall Microsoft Word.

 

[kuwisdelu]

In my previous post, I said that this is not a Microsoft issue.

Well fixing it isn't a MS issue, but there wouldn't be a problem if Office hadn't claimed it in the first place...

Sadly, I have no better ideas.