XL97: Html.xla Add-in May Delete All Files in a Folder

• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Windows NT, versions 3.51, 4.0

SUMMARY

This article contains information that describes a known problem that may occur in Microsoft Excel 97 when you click Save As HTML on the File menu in order to save a file in a folder on a server running Microsoft Windows NT. The "More Information" section of this article contains a full description of the problem and information about how to avoid the problem.

MORE INFORMATION

The following section addresses common questions regarding the problem with the Save As HTML command.

1. Q. I heard that there is a problem with the Save As HTML command in
      Microsoft Excel 97. What's the situation?

   A. The Save As HTML menu command is provided by the Html.xla add-in
      included with Microsoft Excel 97. There is a problem in the Visual
      Basic for Applications programming system that is "exposed" by the
      code in the Html.xla add-in. Because of this problem, files may be
      deleted when you use the Save As HTML command to save a worksheet
      in the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) format in a folder on a
      computer running Microosft Windows NT, version 3.51 or 4.0.

2. Q. When does this problem occur?

   A. This problem may occur when the following conditions are both true:

       - You save the HTML file to a network server running Microsoft
         Windows NT Server, version 3.51 or 4.0, or Microsoft Windows NT
         Workstation, version 3.51 or 4.0.

         -and-

       - You save the HTML file to a mapped drive on the network server.

      NOTE: The problem does not occur when you save an HTML file to a
      share on a computer running Microsoft Windows 95. The problem also
      does not occur when you save an HTML file to a share using the
      universal naming convention (UNC).

      For example, if you save an HTML file using the following convention

         \\<Server>\<Share>

      the problem does not occur.

      However, if you save an HTML file to drive D, where drive D is mapped
      to \\<Server>\<Share>, and <Server> is a computer running Windows NT,
      the problem occurs. When you do this, all of the files in the folder
      in which you save the HTML file may be deleted.

3. Q. What does Microsoft plan to do about this problem?

   A. Microsoft works hard to respond to issues raised by our customers.
      We have developed an updated Html.xla that corrects the problem
      described in this article. We will begin distributing this updated
      add-in as soon as possible.

4. Q. When (and where) can I get this updated Html.xla add-in?

   A. The updated Html.xla add-in is available as of May 5, 1997. You can
      download the add-in from the following address on the Internet:

         http://www.microsoft.com/officefreestuff/excel/

      The updated Html.xla is available free of charge to all users of
      Microsoft Excel 97.

      NOTE: Because the Microsoft Web site is constantly updated, the site
      address may change without notice. If this occurs, link to the
      Microsoft home page at the following address:

         http://www.microsoft.com/

5. Q. What can I do to address the problem until the updated Html.xla is
      available?

   A. Until you download and install the updated Html.xla add-in, do NOT
      USE the Save As Html menu command to save HTML files to mapped
      network drives. If you do this, you risk deleting all of the files
      in the folder in which you are saving the HTML file.

      CAUTION: Because Microsoft Windows NT does not allow you to undelete
      files, this problem can result in permanent data loss.

      Instead of saving the file to the server, save the HTML file to a
      folder on a local hard disk. If you must save the HTML files to a
      folder on a computer running Windows NT, make sure that you use the
      universal naming convention to connect to the server instead of a
      mapped drive letter. Or, make sure that the folder in which you are
      saving the HTML file is completely empty.

6. Q. Does the updated Html.xla do anything else besides fix this problem?

   A. Yes, it does. The updated Html.xla add-in also includes the
      following new features:

       - The updated Html.xla allows you to use a Visual Basic for
         Applications macro to save worksheets as HTML files. Without the
         updated add-in, you cannot easily perform this task using a macro.

       - When you save a worksheet in the HTML format, the updated
         Html.xla preserves all data and filters (except custom filters)
         in ranges you specify for an AutoFilter.