"Preparing Help File for First Use" Continues to Appear

 Last reviewed: May 28, 1997
Article ID: Q162656
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Access 97 for Windows
  • Microsoft Access for Windows 95, version 7.0
  • Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
  • Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
  • Microsoft Office 97 for Windows
  • Microsoft Office for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a, 7.0b
  • Microsoft PowerPoint 97 for Windows
  • Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows 95, version 7.0
  • Microsoft Word 97 for Windows
  • Microsoft Word for Windows 95, version 7.0

SYMPTOMS

Each time you run Help, you receive the following message 

   Preparing Help file for first use
and the Help Topics dialog box appears.

CAUSE

Microsoft Windows 95 displays this message when it builds the Help topics (.gid) file that is based on the Help contents and index (.cnt) file. If the topics file or the contents and index file is missing or damaged, Windows 95 displays the message.

RESOLUTION

To work around this behavior, use the following steps:

  1. Use the list of files in the "More Information" section of this article to help you find the topics and contents and index files for the appropriate Help file. The files listed will be stored where ever the Office programs are stored. This could be on a server or locally depending on the type of install you chose during the setup program.

    Rename the files by changing the file extension to .old.

    For more information about how to perform this task in Windows, see your Windows printed documentation or Windows Help.

  2. Run the Setup program. When you are prompted, click Reinstall and continue running Setup. This replaces the files you renamed.

MORE INFORMATION

   Program               Main Help file(s)   Index file      Topics File
   ---------------------------------------------------------------------

   Microsoft Access 97
                         Acdef80.hlp         Acdef80.cnt     Acdef80.gid
                         Acmain80.hlp        Acmain80.cnt    Acmain80.gid
                         Acnew80.hlp         Acnew80.cnt     Acnew80.gid
                         Acspc80.hlp         Acspc80.cnt     Acspc80.gid
                         Acvba80.hlp         Acvba80.cnt     Acvba80.gid

   Microsoft Access 7.0
                         Msaccdef.hlp        Msaccdef.cnt    Msaccdef.gid
                         Msaccess.hlp        Msaccess.cnt    Msaccess.gid
                         Msjtrclr.hlp        Msjtrclr.cnt    Msjtrclr.gid
                         Vba_acc.hlp         Vba_acc.cnt     Vba_acc.gid
                         Vbaaccsp.hlp        Vbaaccsp.cnt    Vbaaccsp.gid

   Microsoft Excel 97
                         Xlmain8.hlp         Xlmain8.cnt     Xlmain8.gid
                         Vbaxl8.hlp          Vbaxl8.cnt      Vbaxl8.gid

   Microsoft Excel 7.0
                         Mainxl.hlp          Mainxl.cnt      Mainxl.gid
                         Vba_xl.hlp          Vba_xl.cnt      Vba_xl.gid

   Microsoft PowerPoint 97
                         Ppmain8.hlp         Ppmain8.cnt     Ppmain8.gid
                         Vbappt8.hlp         Vbappt8.cnt     Vbappt8.gid

   Microsoft PowerPoint 7.0
                         Powerpnt.hlp        Powerpnt.cnt    Powerpnt.gid

   Microsoft Word 97
                         Wdmain8.hlp         Wdmain8.cnt     Wdmain8.gid
                         Vbawrd8.hlp         Vbawrd8.cnt     Vbawrd8.gid

   Microsoft Word 7.0
                         Winword.hlp         Winword.cnt     Winword.gid
                         Wrdbasic.hlp        Wrdbasic.cnt    Wrdbasic.gid

Additional query words: 7.00 7.00a 7.00b 8.00 97
Keywords : offhelp xlhelp xlui kbenv kberrmsg
Version : 7.00 7.00a 7.00b 97
Platform : WINDOWS

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Last reviewed: May 28, 1997
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