OS 10.5.8 and FF 5.5.7 - O4M 2004 with Word 11.5.6

Firefox downloaded a Word file and it opened in Bean.
Did SaveAs to Word format. Default was set to Word 97. (!)
Selected Word 2007 (.docx). Thus converted, file would not open.
Error message about the wrong version of Word. (yes, it's written down - somewhere)

Went to FF preferences > applications and changed Word Document (Content Type) from "always ask" to "Use Microsoft%20Word" (Action).
Tried d/l again, same result.

Quit FF and tried again. File d/l was in Word, everything worked fine.

Question 1 - Is it normal for such a preference to not take effect until FF is closed and reopened? I know that some other preferences take effect instantly.

Question 2 - Should I alert the source that they are using a very outdated version of Word? My analogy: It's like trying to drive a Model T on the expressway!

As a regular Safari user I can't comment on your question 1, but with regard to question 2 you might want to consider the following. By providing a file in the 'older' .doc version, people with older (pre-2008) versions of Word/Office can access the files without having to resort to xml converters. As .docs don't faze the latest version of Word/Office users, more people are reached with the same file. Or, in your words: that T-Ford can access the alleyway your XML vehicle cannot.

Are you offering to purchase a copy of Microsoft Office for the source and everyone they communicate with? Word '97 may not be the latest version but there are still millions of users out there who have not updated. I know many organizations who habitually save Word files in older formats because many their correspondents have chosen not to upgrade Microsoft Office. In fact the majority of my PC using friends and a surprising number of my Mac using friends only update their software when they purchase a new computer. Witness the posts that still show up here about people with Claris Works and Appleworks files.

AFIK any subsequent version of Word will open the older Wore 97 files, as will most third party Word Processing applications. So using the older format guarantees compatibility with the broadest range of recipients. On the other side of that coin, I know of at least a couple of cases where critical contracts have been lost because they were sent in .docx format and the recipient could not open them and therefore chose another vendor.

No takers on Question 1?

The same site was providing docs in a later version of Word only a few weeks ago. With all the above information, it's curious that FF was opening it in Bean to begin with. Fixing the preference seems to have done the trick. Back to question 1 ...

> No takers on Question 1?

I don't use Firefox, but I will say that it's not unheard of for an app to have to be relaunched before a pref change becomes effective.

it's not unheard of for an app to have to be relaunched before a pref change becomes effective.

second that.

This seems to be a common thing. Many apps even require a restart "for the changes to take effect". I don't think this is strange; I've seen it in other browsers, like iCab.
Speaking about outdated versions of Office, I am 100% with JoeMike. Office 2008 is a piece of crap (especially PowerPoint), the first rendition of Office that is actually, a step back rather than forward, at least at the user end. And MS lost the lawsuit and cannot even sell new copies of xml-based apps. So, Office 2004 remains a good one and its format is the same as the 1997 (check with save as: it will say 97-2004 format.

The format choices were 97 or 2003 or 2007 if I recall correctly. I'm waiting for the reviews when Office 2010 comes out late this year. Maybe a year from now, I'll be upgrading.