OFF97: NIW 2.0 Add Files Dialog Box Displays Only 16 Files

• Microsoft Office 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Office 97 Network Installation Wizard, version 2.0

SYMPTOMS

If you use the Microsoft Office 97 Network Installation Wizard (NIW), version 2.0, to open a previously modified setup table file (.stf), the Files To Add box in the Add Files dialog box will display a maximum of 16 files, regardless of how many files you previously added to the list.

This behavior may cause a problem when you use NIW 2.0 to modify a setup table file more than once. See the "More Information" section of this article for an example of this problem.

CAUSE

When you open a previously modified setup table file, NIW 2.0 displays only the first 16 files in the Files To Add dialog box. Additional files are still listed in the setup table file, but they are not displayed in the list.

WORKAROUND

This problem does not occur in version 2.1 of the Network Installation Wizard. NIW 2.1 will be available from the Microsoft Web site on June 16, 1997; at that time, instructions for downloading NIW 2.1 will be made available here.

If you are unable to obtain NIW 2.1, and you want to add more files to the Files To Add list box, and you previously added more than 16 files, do not open the previously modified setup table file; instead, make a copy of the original setup table file and modify the copy.

To work around this problem, use these steps:

1. Make a copy of your original setup table file (Off97pro.stf or Off97std.stf) and open the copy in the Network Installation Wizard.

2. Make any necessary changes in the Network Installation Wizard.

3. In the Add Files dialog box, click Add to add all of the files that are required (the original files plus any new files you want to add).

4. Continue through the Network Installation Wizard steps and save your modified setup table file.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. The problem is corrected in version 2.1 of the Network Installation Wizard.

MORE INFORMATION

When you use NIW 2.0 to modify a setup table file, the Add Files dialog box gives you the option of specifying additional files that should be copied by the Setup program. The first time you do this, you can add as many files as you like (there is no practical limit), and the Files To Add list will display all of the files.

However, if you use NIW 2.0 to modify the setup table file a second time, the Files To Add list will display only the first 16 files listed in the setup table file. Files beyond the 16th will not be listed; however, they will still be listed in the setup table file, unless you use the Add button to add more files.

The following steps demonstrate what can happen when there are too many files for the Add Files dialog box to display the list of files properly:

1. Use NIW 2.0 to open and modify a setup table file the first time. In the Add Files dialog box, add 18 files. The Files To Add list shows this:

         File001.txt
         File002.txt
          .
          .
          .
         File016.txt
         File017.txt
         File018.txt
   

   Note that all 18 files are listed correctly. When you click Next and complete the process of modifying the setup table file, all 18 files are correctly written to the setup table file.

2. If you use NIW 2.0 to open and modify the same setup table file again, the Files To Add list shows this:

         File001.txt
         File002.txt
          .
          .
          .
         File016.txt
   

   File017.txt and File018.txt do not appear in the list, but they are still listed in the setup table file.

3. If you use the Add button to add two more files (File019.txt and File020.txt) to the list, the list will look like this:

         File001.txt
         File002.txt
          .
          .
          .
         File016.txt
         File019.txt
         File020.txt
   

   The entries in the setup table file for File017.txt and File018.txt are overwritten by the new entries for File019.txt and File020.txt.