Excel Err Msg: "Cannot Load That Help File" with Custom Help

 Last reviewed: November 2, 1994
Article ID: Q49274

SUMMARY

The error message "Cannot Load That Help file" can appear when you call a custom Help file created within Excel version 2.20.

If the Help file was created within Excel with comment text and then saved as TEXT, it cannot be read as a Help file. Thus, the following format cannot be used if the file is created from within Excel and saved as TEXT: 

   *topic_number,comment text
   One or more lines of text
               .
               .
               .
This problem occurs because Excel places quotation marks around any cell that contains a comma (,). Thus, the first line of the Help topic containing the asterisk (*) and the topic number are not recognized by Excel as a valid Help file topic line. Excel encloses cells containing commas with quotation marks so that they can be read correctly by applications expecting commas as record delimiters.

When creating a Help file in Excel, the first cell should contain only an asterisk followed by a topic number. Comments can be added in the adjacent cell to the right, with no comma.

Alternatively, you can create the Excel Help file in any word-processing application that can export straight ASCII text files.

KBCategory: kbother
KBSubcategory:

Additional reference words: 2.20

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Last reviewed: November 2, 1994
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