“I get lots of email attachments that are Word documents. Why do they change to Nisus documents? What are you doing to my files?” This is probably the single most asked question we get in support. Actually, some of the emails are … uh … less friendly than that.
First, you should know that we do not do anything to encourage this behavior. The finder does this, not Nisus. I just want to make that clear before we move on.
Since Nisus Writer Express opens “.doc” files, the Finder has to choose between the two applications to open this file. How does the system determine which application to open these files? Something called Launch Services looks at, among other things, the file extension to determine which application to use to open these files. The official Apple explanation of this phenomenon can be read here.
Note that the system changes the icon only, not the file itself. In other words, nothing has been changed except the icon.
To change the association from Nisus back to Word, simply choose a file that you want to change, then go to the Finder and from the File menu, choose “Get Info” (or Command-I). In the “Get Info” window, find “Open with:” and from the pull down menu, choose “Microsoft Word” and that document will be associated with MS Word. If you want all documents of that type to open with Word, click the “Change All…” button. “Get Info” picture here.
Nisus Writer Express can still open those documents, but you will have to drag it to the Nisus icon in the dock or use the Open dialog in Express.
By the way, you can find this and other interesting stuff in our FAQ section.