[X4U] Can't set MS Word as the default

[James Hurley]

I don't know how this happened but my Mac suddenly has trouble  
recognizing Word documents.

Even the screen icon is now missing on Word documents.

If I control-click on a Word document, the default program to open a  
Word file is Text Edit. If I select Other and choose MS Word in my  
Applications folder it does open it word. But only that one time. The  
next time I try to open it, Text Edit is again the default application.

If I do a Get Info on a Word file, Text Edit is listed as the  
application in which the file will open. If I select Other and choose  
Word, then MS Word appears in the drop down menu as the app to open   
the file. But if I then click on the "Change All" button, the drop  
down menu changes to Word Pad, an application that needs to go  
through Fusion to open.  It is not possible to do a Change All to MS  
Word.

Any thoughts on this very weird avoidance of Word as the app for  
opening Word documents?

Jim Hurley