How do I prevent minimized Word documents from popping up when opening another Word document

Question

1. Close all instances of Microsoft Word.
2. Open the Registry Editor:

Click the Start menu and type regedit in the search bar (or in the Run dialog box by pressing Windows key + R).

Right-click regedit.exe in the search results and select Run as administrator.

Confirm the User Account Control prompt if one appears.

3. Navigate to the correct registry key for the file types you use:

For .docx files (Word 2007 format): Expand HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Word.Document.12\shell\Open.

For .doc files (older format): Expand HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Word.Document.8\shell\Open.

4. Rename the ddeexec sub-key:

Right-click the ddeexec sub-key (folder) under Open.

Select Rename and change its name to ddeexec.disabled.

5. Modify the command sub-key: a. Expand the command sub-key under Open. b. Double-click the (Default) value in the right pane. c. In the "Value data" field, add "%1" (including the quotes and a space) at the very end of the existing path. The path should look something like: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\WINWORD.EXE" /n /dde "%1" d. Modify the flags from /n /dde to /q /n "%1". The final value data should resemble: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\WINWORD.EXE" /q /n "%1" e. Click OK to save the changes.
6. Repeat for other file types: Perform the same steps for Word.Document.8 if you use .doc files.
7. Close the Registry Editor and test by double-clicking a Word document file.

The documents should now open correctly in a restored or maximized window without unexpectedly restoring other minimized documents.

*** Original

Default - "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office12\WINWORD.EXE" /n /dde

Command - vUpAV5!!!!!!!!!MKKSkWORDFiles>tW{~$4Q]c@5d1`,xaTO5 /n /dde

*** Change to

Default - "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office12\WINWORD.EXE" /n /dde "%1"

Command - vUpAV5!!!!!!!!!MKKSkWORDFiles>tW{~$4Q]c@5d1`,xaTO5 /n /dde "%1

Answer 1

To prevent minimized Word documents from popping up when opening another Word document, you can modify the registry settings related to Word's file handling. Here’s a summary of the steps you would typically take:

1. Close all instances of Microsoft Word.
2. Open the Registry Editor:
   • Click the Start menu, type regedit, and run it as an administrator.
3. Navigate to the correct registry key for the file types you use:
   • For .docx files (Word 2007 format): HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Word.Document.12\shell\Open
   • For .doc files (older format): HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Word.Document.8\shell\Open
4. Rename the ddeexec sub-key:
   • Right-click on ddeexec and rename it to ddeexec.disabled.
5. Modify the command sub-key:
   • Expand the command sub-key under Open, double-click the (Default) value, and modify the value data to include %1 at the end of the existing path. Change the flags from /n /dde to /q /n "%1".
6. Repeat for other file types if necessary.
7. Close the Registry Editor and test by opening a Word document to see if the changes take effect.

These steps should help ensure that minimized documents do not pop up unexpectedly when opening new documents.

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References:

• How to reset user options and registry settings in Word