The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 1.0, 1.1, 1.1a
- Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 2.0, 2.0a, 2.0a-CD, 2.0b, 2.0c
- Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
- Microsoft Excel versions 2.1, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0
SUMMARY
This article describes several causes for the following Microsoft Word
for Windows error message:
Cannot obtain data from Excel for <filename>
The information in this article applies to charts created in Microsoft
Excel for Windows versions 2.1, 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0
STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Word versions listed
above. This problem was corrected in Microsoft Word for Windows 95, version
7.0.
MORE INFORMATION
This error message can occur for the following reasons:
- The Word for Windows document contains an automatic update link to
a chart in Microsoft Excel and the chart was renamed after the link
occurred. To maintain a link to a renamed chart, you must change the
filename in the field to the current name of the chart, and press the
F9 key to update the field in the Word document.
To reestablish a link to the renamed chart, make sure that the Field
Codes option is turned on. In the LINK or DDEAUTO field, change the
filename to the chart's new name. Be sure to use double backslashes
in the path, as in the following example:
c:\\excel\\chart1.xlc
In version 5.0 of Excel, when a chart sheet name is changed it will
automatically update to the new name when the link is updated in Word
6.0.
- In Excel, the Ignore Remote Requests option is selected in the
Workspace dialog box. From the Options menu, choose Workspace, and
clear the Ignore Remote Requests check box. Update the field in Word
for Windows by pressing the F9 key.
- Your Excel executable file was renamed to something other than
EXCEL.EXE. Rename it EXCEL.EXE.
- When updating a link, Word for Windows actually launches Excel. If
an Auto_Open macro runs when Excel is launched and the execution of
that macro exceeds Word's DDE time-out setting, the "Word cannot
obtain data..." error message occurs.
To prevent this error when it is caused by DDE time-out, modify the
DDETIMEOUT=n setting in the Windows WIN.INI file. The value of "n"
determines the number of seconds Word for Windows waits for DDE data
from the source application. The default value for n is 30 seconds in
Word for Windows version 1.x. The default value for n is 60 seconds
in Word for Windows version 2.0.
In Word for Windows version 2.0, the DDETIMEOUT setting should be
placed in the [Microsoft Word 2.0] section of the WIN.INI file as
follows:
[Microsoft Word 2.0]
DDETIMEOUT=n
In Word for Windows version 1.x, the DDETIMEOUT setting should be
placed in the [Microsoft Word] section of the WIN.INI file as
follows:
[Microsoft Word]
DDETIMEOUT=n
REFERENCES
"Microsoft Word for Windows User's Guide," version 2.0, pages 684-691,
810
"Microsoft Word for Windows User's Reference," version 1.x, pages 397,
411, 201-203
|