Office365 XML Handler doesn't function properly. Error: This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action.

Question

Dear,

It's come to my attention that the default Office365 XML Handler doesn't function properly.

Software

I'm running Windows 10 1703 and Office 365 version 1803 (Semi-Annual Channel). 

Behaviour

When the "XML Handler" is assigned as the default application for XML files, the following message is displayed when a user wants to open an XML-file. This message is only shown when the 2nd line in the XML file doesn't have any information regarding the application which needs to open.

The expected behaviour is dependant on the 2nd line in the XML file:

• <?mso-application progid="Word.Document"?> ==> Microsoft Word
• <?mso-application progid="Excel.Sheet"?> ==> Microsoft Excel
• Nothing specified ==> Internet Explorer

Analysis

When comparing some systems (C2R vs MSI), it appears that the registry on Office365 ProPlus installations isn't correctly configured.

By Default (not working):

Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\htmlfile\shell\open\command

• "C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Microsoft Shared*OFFICE14*\MSOXMLED.EXE" /verb open "%1"

Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\htmlfile\shell\edit\command

• "C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Microsoft Shared*OFFICE14*\MSOXMLED.EXE" /verb edit"%1"

Changed (working):

Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\htmlfile\shell\open\command

• "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\vfs\ProgramFilesCommonX64\Microsoft Shared\OFFICE16\MSOXMLED.EXE" /verb open "%1"

Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\htmlfile\shell\edit\command

• "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\vfs\ProgramFilesCommonX64\Microsoft Shared\OFFICE16\MSOXMLED.EXE" /verb edit "%1"

This however still doesn't solve the issue that the icon stays blank.

Screenshot on Office 2016 MSI (XML Handler is working correctly)

Screenshot on Office 365 ProPlus (XML Handler is not working correctly out-of-the box. Above changes will open the correct application, but icon still isn't changed)

Could you please provide me feedback if this bug can be resolved?

My business users will thank you.

Answer 1

Hi Sven,

The icon issue might be due to some registry keys missing in Office 365 installation. We've tested this and we encountered the same behavior. We've found a registry fix involving adding the keys manually and the icons starts to show. You can follow the steps below.

1. Copy the following text to Notepad and save it as filename.reg

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared\XML]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared\XML\ProgIds]

"Word.Document"=""

"Excel.Sheet"=""

"PowerPoint.Show"=""

"InfoPath.Document"=""

2. Import it to registry
3. It may take a while for Windows to update the icon cache. You can just leave the machine turned on for about 20 minutes.

Please let us know how it goes.

Here's and article for your reference.

Office 2003 .xml files – blank/white/missing icons

Regards,

Justin

Disclaimer: Microsoft provides no assurances and/or warranties, implied or otherwise, and is not responsible for the information you receive from the third-party linked sites or any support related to technology.

Answer 2

Hi Sven,

Happy to hear that it also works for you! For your first question, you can send feedback directly to the related team. Check the article below on how to.

How do I give feedback on Microsoft Office?

For the second question, several users with the same issue also used the same approach to solve it. Also, this is the best possible solution we can find to workaround the issue.

Regards,

Justin

Hi Justin,

Thanks for the information and the link to report the issue. I've used the link, but I was afraid it wouldn't get to the correct people since it's the "XML Handler" and not excel or another application.

So if I understand you correctly, we can change the registry (icon + classes root) and it wouldn't pose any problems in the future?

Thanks.

Regards,

Sven

Answer 3

Hi Sven,

The icon issue might be due to some registry keys missing in Office 365 installation. We've tested this and we encountered the same behavior. We've found a registry fix involving adding the keys manually and the icons starts to show. You can follow the steps below.

1. Copy the following text to Notepad and save it as filename.reg

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared\XML]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared\XML\ProgIds]

"Word.Document"=""

"Excel.Sheet"=""

"PowerPoint.Show"=""

"InfoPath.Document"=""

2. Import it to registry
3. It may take a while for Windows to update the icon cache. You can just leave the machine turned on for about 20 minutes.

Please let us know how it goes.

Here's and article for your reference.

Office 2003 .xml files – blank/white/missing icons

Regards,

Justin

Disclaimer: Microsoft provides no assurances and/or warranties, implied or otherwise, and is not responsible for the information you receive from the third-party linked sites or any support related to technology.

Hi Justin,

Thanks for the feedback. I've tested this approach and it does function correctly.

However, I would like to see this fixed in the product itself:

• XML Handler opening IE/Edge when no application is defined in the XML-file
• Icons displaying the correct application (like after configuring the registry keys)

Questions:

Long term: Is this bug actively being taken care of the product team? If not, how can I report this bug (I thought this would be the best place)?

Short term: Is my approach about changing the registry keys in "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT" the best possible way? I would like to avoid issues in case the product team will change registry keys themselves in a new release to fix the behavior.

Thanks for the quick support!

Answer 4

Hi Sven,

Happy to hear that it also works for you! For your first question, you can send feedback directly to the related team. Check the article below on how to.

How do I give feedback on Microsoft Office?

For the second question, several users with the same issue also used the same approach to solve it. Also, this is the best possible solution we can find to workaround the issue.

Regards,

Justin

Answer 5

Hi Sven,

We do understand. You can also post your feedback in Office 365 UserVoice. This is another way of letting the related team hear customer's feedback. Many features have been added or improved based on the customers' valuable suggestions.

If you need to fix this as soon as possible, you can opt to use it and we suggest to backup your registry first before making any changes on it so you can restore them in the future if problems arise. We don't see any possible issues in this workaround as many users recommend it.

How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

Regards,

Justin