Excel: "Can't Access File" When Opening File over a Network

 Last reviewed: November 29, 1994
Article ID: Q63801
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, versions 2.2, 3.0, 4.0

SUMMARY

When opening a Microsoft Excel file over a network, the message "Can't Access File" may be generated due to various circumstances. The message may be followed with options to Retry or Cancel.

The message occurs if the volume that the file is on has the same name as the hard disk drive.

This message will be received if the file is in the process of being opened by another user. This situation is generally encountered with large files, which take longer to open.

To open the file, periodically click the Retry button. The file will be opened once the other user is finished opening the file.

MORE INFORMATION

If a macro is used to open a file, an error is returned if this situation occurs.

To work around this situation, use an IF() statement to check for an error in the OPEN() function as illustrated in the following example: 

   A1: 00:00:15                            | wait time=15 seconds
   A2: =IF(OPEN("filename"),goto(A5))
   A3: =WAIT(NOW()+A1)
   A4: =GOTO(A2)
   A5: (end of loop, rest of macro continues)
The IF() statement in cell A2 checks for an error in the OPEN() function. If the OPEN() function fails, the WAIT() function is used to pause the macro for 15 seconds, and then go back to cell A2 to try to open the file again. Once the file is successfully opened, the macro continues from cell A5.

KBCategory: kbusage
KBSubcategory:

Additional reference words: 2.2 2.20 3.0 3.00 4.0 4.00

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Last reviewed: November 29, 1994
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