Help please - Error 'strict open XML word processing document'

[Onthebrightside]

Any help greatly appreciated.

One of mates has a file error showing on all his document, showing the error office 'strict open XML word processing document',

We tried right clicking on a word document going to the 'other' option and getting it to always recognise it as a word document, but 'Word' doesn't come up as an option. It seems to be the 'strict' that causing the problem. Does anyone know anything that could help solve it please. Or has anyone come across this before?

So grateful for any help - we're pulling our hair out as he needs to access to some personal documents.

 

[Daybooks]

Use Office Open XML (OOXML) in Word add-ins for rich content insertion - Office Add-ins

Learn when and how to use Office Open XML coercion in Word add-ins to insert formatted text, images, charts, SmartArt, tables, and complex content with complete formatting control.

learn.microsoft.com

Not sure I can help except offer the above link - which you may have already tried.

 

[Onthebrightside]

Use Office Open XML (OOXML) in Word add-ins for rich content insertion - Office Add-ins

Learn when and how to use Office Open XML coercion in Word add-ins to insert formatted text, images, charts, SmartArt, tables, and complex content with complete formatting control.

learn.microsoft.com

Not sure I can help except offer the above link - which you may have already tried.

Thank you, but it seems to be the word 'Strict' that's causing the problem

 

[Daybooks]

Thank you, but it seems to be the word 'Strict' that's causing the problem

In what context is "Strict" being used please? That's the bit I am not understanding - to know whether I can offer anything to help.

How is the problem occurring, what environment and application?

 

[fisicx]

It looks like the XML file is corrupted. Which is a bit of a problem and quite likely means the data is lost.

You could try opening the document in Google docs or Libre Office. Both of these are a little more forgiving of errors.

 

[Onthebrightside]

It looks like the XML file is corrupted. Which is a bit of a problem and quite likely means the data is lost.

You could try opening the document in Google docs or Libre Office. Both of these are a little more forgiving of errors.

Many thanks - it's the 'strict' that seems to be causing the problem. I thank you and will suggested it to him. It seems like all of his files have just turned into 'strict' XML files for some reason. No one seems to know why or help him with opening them - I'm hoping someone has come across it before.

 

[fisicx]

Have you tried opening the document in a different application?

 

[Onthebrightside]

It looks like the XML file is corrupted. Which is a bit of a problem and quite likely means the data is lost.

You could try opening the document in Google docs or Libre Office. Both of these are a little more forgiving of errors.

Thanks @fisicx he can get his documents open in office Libre, he can't then save them as a .docx as it just reverts to making the document an XML again that can't be opened in any file.

 

[Onthebrightside]

Apologies for not being clear. To clarify.

He woke up one morning to find all his files (Word, Excel etc.) had turned into XML files. When he tried to open them a pop up came up saying:

'office strict open XML word processing document'​

We've tried:

• Opening in other formats.
• Reestablishing the opening package of 'Word', but when we go right click, Choose other App, 'Word' does not appear as an option (apparently a problem because of the first Word 'Strict' in that pop up message?
• Restarting Office and asking it to simultaneously repair itself.

The documents are opening in Office Libre (thanks @fisicx for the idea), however, if you try to save them as either Word or Excel, they immediately corrupt and become XML files.

It's fantastic that he can at least get access to the documents now, but if anyone has any idea on how to solve the XML problem, that would be great.

​

 

[Kerwin]

Open the XML document(s) in a text editor (NOT a word processor) and see if you can fix the problem manually. If you can't fix the problem at least you'll be able to check the data stored in the file.

If you don't have a text editor installed then you can use Notepad++ for free.

Notepad++

notepad-plus-plus.org

 

[Onthebrightside]

Open the XML document(s) in a text editor (NOT a word processor) and see if you can fix the problem manually. If you can't fix the problem at least you'll be able to check the data stored in the file.

If you don't have a text editor installed then you can use Notepad++ for free.

Notepad++

notepad-plus-plus.org

Hi Kerwin,

Thank you for you advice and sorry to be an idiot about this, but how would we be able to fix the problem manually using Notepad++?

 

[fisicx]

Hi Kerwin,

Thank you for you advice and sorry to be an idiot about this, but how would we be able to fix the problem manually using Notepad++?

Unless you understand XML there isn’t much you can do.

 

[NaN]

Just a suggestion, but maybe you could try opening the document in Google docs editor and then try to save the file as .docx again, that might fix the issue.

 

[Onthebrightside]

Just a suggestion, but maybe you could try opening the document in Google docs editor and then try to save the file as .docx again, that might fix the issue.

Thank you NaN, we tried that, but the problem seems to be that the word 'Strict' is at the beginning of the pop up and therefore that doesn't seem to work as it usually does. I have to say, I've never come across this pop up with the word 'Strict' in it before, it's quite got me baffled as well, none of the normal solutions seem to work.

 

[NaN]

@Onthebrightside

Many thanks - it's the 'strict' that seems to be causing the problem. I thank you and will suggested it to him. It seems like all of his files have just turned into 'strict' XML files for some reason. No one seems to know why or help him with opening them - I'm hoping someone has come across it before.

I asked ChatGPT and this is what it says:

It sounds like your mate's documents have been saved in or converted to Strict Open XML format, which is a variant of the Open XML standard used in Microsoft Office files. The Strict Open XML format is more rigid and adheres to stricter standards than the default Microsoft Office formats (like .docx). This format can sometimes cause compatibility issues with older versions of Office or with non-Office software, which may be why the files aren't recognized properly.

Here's a few approaches to try:​

1. Use Microsoft Word to open the Strict Open XML documents:​

• Method 1: Open the file directly
  • Open Word.
  • Click File > Open.
  • Browse to the document and select it. Word should be able to open Strict Open XML format files if you have a modern version of Microsoft Word (2013 or later).
  • Once opened, you can save it in the regular .docx format by clicking File > Save As > choose .docx.
• Method 2: Manually associate the file type If the files are not recognized by Word automatically and you cannot right-click and select Word:
  1. Right-click on the file.
  2. Choose Open With > Choose Another App.
  3. If Microsoft Word is not listed, click on More Apps or Look for Another App on this PC.
  4. Browse to the location where Microsoft Word is installed (usually C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\OfficeXX where XX is your version number).
  5. Select WINWORD.EXE and choose to always open with that app.

2. Repair Office Installation:​

There might be an issue with the Office installation itself. Try repairing it:

1. Go to Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features.
2. Select Microsoft Office and click Change.
3. Choose Quick Repair first, and if that doesn't work, try the Online Repair option.

3. Convert the Strict Open XML Documents:​

If the files still won’t open properly, you can try converting them online or with a tool:

• Use an online file converter like Zamzar or Convertio to convert the Strict XML .docx to a regular .docx file.
• Alternatively, you can use LibreOffice (free software) to open and convert the file into another format.

4. Check for Corruption:​

If all files suddenly changed format, it’s possible the files were mistakenly converted or saved in Strict Open XML format by some process or tool, or even as a result of a system update. Double-check whether the issue is affecting only specific files or a wider range of file types.

5. Disable Protected View or Compatibility Mode (if enabled):​

Sometimes, documents that were created or edited on another machine may open in Protected View or Compatibility Mode. Make sure that Word isn't opening them in these restricted modes, which may prevent proper opening:

1. Open Word.
2. Click File > Options.
3. In the Trust Center section, click Trust Center Settings.
4. Under Protected View, uncheck the boxes for "Enable Protected View for files originating from the internet," etc.
   

 

[fisicx]

A typical useless ChatGPT answer. The files cannot be opened in Word. But they do open in other platforms.

 

[Onthebrightside]

@Onthebrightside

I asked ChatGPT and this is what it says:

It sounds like your mate's documents have been saved in or converted to Strict Open XML format, which is a variant of the Open XML standard used in Microsoft Office files. The Strict Open XML format is more rigid and adheres to stricter standards than the default Microsoft Office formats (like .docx). This format can sometimes cause compatibility issues with older versions of Office or with non-Office software, which may be why the files aren't recognized properly.

Here's a few approaches to try:​

1. Use Microsoft Word to open the Strict Open XML documents:​

• Method 1: Open the file directly
  • Open Word.
  • Click File > Open.
  • Browse to the document and select it. Word should be able to open Strict Open XML format files if you have a modern version of Microsoft Word (2013 or later).
  • Once opened, you can save it in the regular .docx format by clicking File > Save As > choose .docx.
• Method 2: Manually associate the file type If the files are not recognized by Word automatically and you cannot right-click and select Word:
  1. Right-click on the file.
  2. Choose Open With > Choose Another App.
  3. If Microsoft Word is not listed, click on More Apps or Look for Another App on this PC.
  4. Browse to the location where Microsoft Word is installed (usually C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\OfficeXX where XX is your version number).
  5. Select WINWORD.EXE and choose to always open with that app.

2. Repair Office Installation:​

There might be an issue with the Office installation itself. Try repairing it:

1. Go to Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features.
2. Select Microsoft Office and click Change.
3. Choose Quick Repair first, and if that doesn't work, try the Online Repair option.

3. Convert the Strict Open XML Documents:​

If the files still won’t open properly, you can try converting them online or with a tool:

• Use an online file converter like Zamzar or Convertio to convert the Strict XML .docx to a regular .docx file.
• Alternatively, you can use LibreOffice (free software) to open and convert the file into another format.

4. Check for Corruption:​

If all files suddenly changed format, it’s possible the files were mistakenly converted or saved in Strict Open XML format by some process or tool, or even as a result of a system update. Double-check whether the issue is affecting only specific files or a wider range of file types.

5. Disable Protected View or Compatibility Mode (if enabled):​

Sometimes, documents that were created or edited on another machine may open in Protected View or Compatibility Mode. Make sure that Word isn't opening them in these restricted modes, which may prevent proper opening:

1. Open Word.
2. Click File > Options.
3. In the Trust Center section, click Trust Center Settings.
4. Under Protected View, uncheck the boxes for "Enable Protected View for files originating from the internet," etc.

Thank you so much, this is all very useful, I send it over to him and report back if any are successful. I think he's tried all apart from the last 'Trust Centre' option.

 

[Onthebrightside]

UPDATE:

WELL ... Microsoft finally said that they had no idea what happened to the files and couldn't restore them. They advised the best they could do was delete the account and see if they could then find and upload the files from the old account. My mate said no to that.

The next morning he woke up and all his files had turned back into docx. ppt etc. in their normal packages. Microsoft said it was nothing to do with them, so we're going with black magic

All's well that ends well.

So, if this happens to you, the path I recommend is do as @fisicx said, download Office Libre to access you files for the time being, leave it a couple of weeks and they will hopefully turn back into the right files.

I'd like to say thank you to everyone who offered all and any solutions. We tried them all.