Word 2003 may stop responding when you open or create a document from a SharePoint site in Word 2003

When you try to open a Microsoft Office Word 2003 document from a Microsoft Windows SharePoint Server site or from a server that is running Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2003, Word 2003 may stop responding (hang). When you try to create a new Word 2003 document from a Windows SharePoint Server document library, Word 2003 may stop responding (hang).

This problem occurs if you have a beta version of the Rights Management Add-on for Microsoft Internet Explorer installed.

To resolve this problem, remove the beta version of the Rights Management Add-on for Internet Explorer. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Add/Remove Programs.
3. Click Rights Management Add-on for Internet Explorer, and then click Remove.

To work around this problem when you edit a Word 2003 document in a document library, follow these steps:

1. Expand the document name.
2. Click Edit in Microsoft Office Word.

The Rights Management Add-on for Internet Explorer is a way for Microsoft Windows users who do not have Microsoft Office 2003 installed to view files that have restricted permission. These restrictions help people to prevent sensitive documents, Web-based information, and e-mail messages from being forwarded, edited, or copied by unauthorized individuals.

To obtain a beta version of the Rights Management Add-on for Internet Explorer, visit the following Microsoft Web site: As of November 2003, a released version of the software is not available.

Note The issue does not occur with Microsoft Office Excel 2003 or Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003.