OFF97: Cannot Access Help Topic When Drive Not Available

• Microsoft Access 97
• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
• Microsoft PowerPoint 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Word 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

When you click a Help topic from the Office Assistant, the Help topic is not displayed.

CAUSE

This problem occurs when the focus of an Office application is set to a drive that is no longer available.

Case 1: Floppy Drive

• After you open or close a file on a floppy disk, and then remove the disk from the drive.

  -or-

• After you access a floppy disk through the File Open or File Save As dialog box, click Cancel in the dialog box, and then remove the floppy disk from the drive.

Case 2: Network Drive

• After you have disconnected from a network drive on which you have opened or closed a file.

  -or-

• After you have opened or closed a file on a network drive and the network drive is now unavailable because of a network outage or a momentary disruption.

WORKAROUND

You can change the focus of the Office application from the unavailable drive by clicking Open on the File menu, and then clicking Cancel.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

When you access the File Open dialog box, and the Office application detects that the drive it has been working with is now unavailable, the Office application will change the focus back to your local hard disk drive.

Once the focus of the Office application is changed to an available drive, you can click a Help topic, and the Help topic will be displayed.