On Tue, Dec 14, 2021 at 12:26 PM, Al Sorrentino wrote:

Could this be because I am still using Word 2010 and Windows 7?

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No, or more accurately, not specifically.  Office has been enforcing protected view by default for downloaded content for years now.  I personally hate, hate, hate that because I do not ever download or attempt to open content from sources I do not trust.  Thus, I long ago turned off this feature in every Office program including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint so that I could just download and go.

Yes, that requires additional vigilance on your part, but if you're someone who's as picky and careful as I am, and also use a security suite that scans anything and everything immediately after download before you can even touch it, having it off should not be problematic.

My tutorial for doing same:  Adjusting Protected View Settings in MS-Office Programs
And it doesn't matter if this document opens in protected mode as you should still be able to read it.  If not, unprotect it.  Here are the instructions in that downloadable file:
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Adjusting Protected View Settings in MS-Office Programs

Note:  You must do this in each MS-Office program in which you wish to have Protected View turned off.    This is not something that propagates between the Office Programs such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.

1.        ALT+F to open the file tab/menu

2.       Hit ‘T’ to open the Options Dialog.

3.       Arrow Down until you hit Trust Center

4.       Either:

a.       Hit ALT+T which will activate the Trust Center Settings Button.

b.      Hit TAB until you come to the Trust Center Settings button then activate it.

5.       In the Trust Center Settings dialog, use up or down arrow to get to Protected View.  I say up or down because you will land on whatever setting the last person who used the Trust Center Settings was on, so Protected View could be above or below where you are.  You’ll have to listen until you hit it or reach the end and need to reverse direction.

6.      Once on Protected View, hit TAB to throw focus on to the checkboxes related to protected mode.  You should exercise additional caution in what you are willing to open as far as what comes to you via e-mail attachments or download from the internet, but if your sources are trusted (you know that they run antivirus programs or are major players with tight security) you will generally be fine.  You will want to uncheck the one or more of the following checkboxes, and I uncheck them all, which you should encounter in this order:

a.       Enable Protected View for files originating from the Internet

b.      Enable Protected View for files located in potentially unsafe locations

c.       Enable Protected View for Outlook Attachments.

               Office 2016 (and maybe 2013, but I haven’t tested):  You’re done.  Just OK your way all the way back to the Office program you’re currently using.

                For Office 2010, see step 7 below.

7.       There will be one additional checkbox, Enable data execution protection mode, which should be left checked.

 

Last Edited:  September 8, 2018

 

 
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Brian - Windows 10, 64-Bit, Version 21H1, Build 19043  

Science has become just another voice in the room; it has lost its platform.  Now, you simply declare your own truth.

       ~ Dr. Paul A. Offit, in New York Times article, How Anti-Vaccine Sentiment Took Hold in the United States, September 23, 2019