Why can’t I open documents from Outlook?
Q I’m using Word and Excel documents in Microsoft Outlook, but I cannot read them from the email. Instead, I get a warning that the document cannot be opened because the operating system is not configured to run the relevant application. If I click to open rather than preview, then the Word start-up screen appears briefly before failing with a similar warning. If I save the document or spreadsheet to my Windows desktop I can successfully open it in the relevant Office program without any difficulty. Is this an Outlook issue or something else? John Beattie
A This is a surprisingly common problem that usually indicates an issue with your Office installation. This could be corruption caused by a bad shutdown, or another configuration hiccup.
In almost all cases it can be fixed by running Office’s built-in repair tool – though you might not know this even exists. To access it in Windows 10, first click the Start button, followed by the Settings cog.
Now click Apps and, in the list of apps on the right, scroll through to find and then click Microsoft Office, followed by the Modify button (see screenshot above). Next, select the Quick Repair option and then click Repair.
If this doesn’t resolve the problem, repeat these steps but this time choose the Online Repair option. This takes considerably longer to complete but should fix any problems that remain after a Quick Repair has been applied.