choosing default application

[Larry Wanger]

Hi,  I have a question about how to choose the default appllication  
that will always open a document.  I know thiis has been discussed  
but can not locate the messages in the archives.

I tried to open a word (.doc) document and it would not open for some  
reason.  I want Textedit to open them by defaultt butt ccan not  
figure out how to do this.  Any suggestions on how I accomplish this?