How do I make it so links to .doc files open an external copy of Word, and not internal to IE?

Save the .doc file to your hard disk and then you can open it from outside of IE. HTH Bryan

Yes I know this, but I want to be able to click on it and say "open", just like I can do with ZIP files, etc.

Zip, unlike .doc is somewhat of an executable in itself that it has to perform an action to display it's contents. .doc documents are text files. IE is a text and image file viewer. So, IE can display the contents of a .doc file but it does not have the capability to display the contents of a .zip file. When a .doc file opens within IE everything is still there as it is in Word. The document is editable. Of course, to save any changes, you must save it to hard disk. I am curious...Is there any particular reason that you don't want it to be displayed from within IE? Perhaps if you remove MSWord as one of the programs used to Edit IE documents from IE Tools, Internet Options, Programs, HTML Editor then maybe it will then have to open Word to display the contents of a .doc file. I don't think that will work though. I don't know. Having the capability to open Word and display the contents of a .doc file from within IE is a feature of IE. They are all part of the MS family of products. Zip is not so it is not integrated into IE. Maybe there is a way but I don't of it or why one would want/need it that way. In those cases Save to disk works really good. Then close IE and the file will open Word. Word, in a way, does open but uses IE's toolbar. In doing so you know that you are viewing a .doc that is residing on web site or link and not from your hard disk. HTH Bryan

Give me a break. I am a software developer. .doc files are NOT text files. They are binary files. IE was not designed to display them. It loads a copy of MS Word internally, and adds a bunch of Words interface elements and menu items. When I use Word, I want the normal Word app. And when I close the app, I still want IE right on the page where I was.

How about; right click and select Open in New Window and you'll have your IE right on the page where you left it. It's difficult to tell the difference between software developers and newbies in a forum posting. When attempting to help I try to explain things in understandable terms that anyone can relate to. Sorry that I can offer you nothing more than what I have. Best regards, Bryan

I found the solution if anyone's interested. In Windows Explorer, Tools/File-Types, select .doc type, advanced, uncheck "browse in same window".