There was a Problem Sending the Command to the Program : FIXED

Recently I encountered a very Strange but a very Popular Error Associated with Microsoft Office 2007.Whenever I tried to Open any Microsoft Word Document or Excel Document directly by Double Click or through Right Click then Open I face the Error “There was a Problem Sending the Command to the Program ” and then I tried to Open these Files from within the Microsoft Word or Excel and they Opened Perfectly without any Error or Problem.So I tried Re-installing many a times but was of no use Even I Installed Different Microsoft Office i.e Office 2003 , 2010 but still I ended up by facing the same “There was a Problem Sending the Command to the Program “. So I went through finding Different Solutions over the Whole Internet to Fix this Error and I did managed to Find Some Working Solutions to fix this Error which today I am going to share with you in this Post.So Here below are Some Fixes that you can apply to Your System to fix this Error.

Screenshot Showing “There was a Problem Sending the Command to the Program ” Error

Note Important  – Must Read

These Methods doesn’t Guarantee to fix the Error for all the Users since it is a very big problem.Even Microsoft haven’t come up with a Proper Fix for this Error so please a Patient and Calm and try the Following methods One by One until your Problem is Fixed.These below listed methods have fixed this Error for Most of the Users.Here I have listed the Solutions in a High to Low Priority order so try Fixing the Problem by Applying the Solutions from the top to Bottom order.

There was a Problem Sending the Command to the Program  Excel – Fix Excel Only

If You are Facing the Error while opening Microsoft Excel files Only i.e Spreadsheets etc then You can try the Following method to fix this Error.This is a Very popular fix for solving the Error associated with Microsoft Excel Files only and has worked for thousands of People.

Steps to Follow

• Open Microsoft Excel 2007 and Go to Excel Options as shown below in the Image.

• Go to Advanced and Scroll down to the Bottom and Search for the Box  “Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)“

• Now Uncheck the Box if it is Checked as shown below in the Image.

For Previous Office Versions – If You are Using Microsoft Office 2003 Then Go to Tools and then Options.Now Navigate to the General Tab and There Uncheck the box  “Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)“

Note – If the above Fix doesn’t work don’t worry try the below steps and be Patient.

There was a Problem Sending the Command to the Program Word or Excel Both Fix

You Will Find lots of Different Solutions over the Internet of which Some work and some doesn’t so here I have listed only those Solutions or Fixes that have solved the problem for most of the users as per their Comments or Reviews.Stay Calm and maintain patience and try the following fixes one by one.

Fix 1 – a) Deleting the Word Data Registry Key

Most of the Errors are generally caused by Registry problems i.e either due to corrupt or damaged registry files therefore whenever fixing an error the First solution comes in mind is to Fix the Registry.So here we are going to Delete the Word Data Registry Key so that it can be gain recreated and thus Fixing the Error.

Steps to Follow

• Open Windows Registry Editor.To Open it type regedit in RUN Command box.

• Now Search for the Following key according to your Installed Microsoft Office Versions.

Word 2003 – HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ Office\11.0\Word\Data

Word 2007 – HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ Office\12.0\Word\Data

Word 2010 – HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Word\Data

• Now Delete the Data Registry Key as shown below in the Image.

Fix 1 – b) Deleting the Normal.dotm

Sometimes this Error also occurs due to Corrupt Normal.dotm file so just delete that file and it will be recreated when you Open Microsoft Word again for the first time.

• Make Sure Show Hidden Files Option is Enabled.

• Go to  %userprofile%\Application Data\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates\

• Delete the Normal.dotm File.

Note – Don’t worry Deleting the Data Registry key and Normal.dotm file will not cause any problem as it will be recreated when you Open Microsoft Word again for the first time.If the above solution doesn’t work don’t worry try the second fix.

Fix 2 – Uncheck Compatibility Mode and Privilege Level

Search for the Shortcuts of Microsoft Word or Excel and Make sure that the Boxes Under Compatibility Mode i.e Run this Program in Compatibility for and Run this Program as an Administrator are Unchecked.Here below is simple solution on How to Uncheck Compatibility Mode and Privilege Level.

Steps to Follow

• Right Click on Microsoft Word or Excel Shortcut and Click Properties.

• Navigate to the Compatibility Mode Tab.

• Here Uncheck the Boxes ‘Run this Program in Compatibility ‘ and ‘Run this Program as an Administrator ‘ as shown below in the Image.
  

  

Fix -3 – Use Microsoft Fix it : For Office 2007 or Later Only

Download Microsoft Fix it a Free Utility that will check your System for Office Errors and will provide you Proper solutions to Fix those Problems.

Download Microsoft Fix it

Fix 4 – System Restore

If the Above Solutions doesn’t Work Restore Your System to that time at which Your Microsoft Office Was Working Correctly.

• Go to Start and Then Accessories and Select System tools and Finally System Restore

Start -> Accessories -> System Tools->System Restore

• Restore Your PC or Computer to Previous Working Condition.

Fix 5 – Last Solution – Reinstall Windows

If none of the Above solutions Doesn’t work the only Option left behind you is to Reinstall your Existing Windows.If you are Using Microsoft Windows XP or Vista then update your Windows to latest Service Pack and it will definitely fix your Problem.If You are a Windows 7 User then Install a Fresh Copy of Microsoft Windows 7 to Fix this Error Forever.

Conclusion

I too have Faced this problem and tried Each and Every available solution on the Internet much more these above listed solutions i.e Registry fix,Compatibility Mode,Microsoft Fix it,Command Prompt,Registry Fixers etc but none of the Solutions worked for me but that doesn’t mean that above given solutions are fake or false they did helped most of the Users but it may happen sometime that some solutions work for some people and doesn’t for some.Thus after trying all the Solutions I Finally Ended up with Installing a New Microsoft Windows 7 and Now I am Enjoying Using the Microsoft Office Perfectly Without any Problem.Hope one of the above Solutions works for you and you don’t need to reinstall Your Windows Like I did.