Hyperlinks to https web addresses do not work. Get "unable to open specified file" message. Pasting URL into IE works fine. Hyperlinks to http sites work fine.

Question

I am adding hyperlinks to websites and documents on the web to my Word 2007 document. The links to http:// pages work fine. The links to https:// pages do not. I get the message "Unable to open https:// ...  Cannot open specified file". When I pate the URL into my browser (IE9) it works fine.

Answer 1

Do  you have any other web browsers installed on the computer? ( Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari etc. )

If Yes,Uninstall third party browsers from Select Start > Control Panel > Programs and Features and then uninstall them.

Answer 2

Thank you for this. After some work, this solved the problem. I had Mozilla installed (although not associated as the default for any protocols). I uninstalled Mozilla but then found none of the hyperlinks in my Word document worked. I got a message saying that the operation had been cancelled due to restrictions on the computer. I then found on the internet that this is a known problem solved by resetting the IE defaults from the tools menu. Having done this, all the hyperlinks in my Word document now work. I just wonder what will happen if I now reinstall Mozilla?

This has proved a very helpful support facility. Many thanks.

Answer 3

Thank you for this suggestion. Unfortunately, HTTPS was already associated with Internet Explorer. I reset the association just in case, but the problem persists.

Answer 4

Associate the HTTPS protocol with Internet Explorer from Start> Control Panel>Default Programs>Associate a file type of protocol with a specific program