PPT2000: Run-Time Error When Opening Shortcuts Programmatically

ID: Q222786

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft PowerPoint 2000

SYMPTOMS

When a Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications program attempts to open a shortcut to a presentation, you may receive a message similar to the following:

Run-Time error '-2147467259 (80004005)'
PowerPoint could not open the file.

CAUSE

PowerPoint uses the MS-DOS name to launch a presentation. The name of a shortcut, as it appears in Windows Explorer, is not the same as the MS-DOS name.

RESOLUTION

Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language being demonstrated and the tools used to create and debug procedures. Microsoft Support professionals can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific needs. If you have limited programming experience, you may want to contact the Microsoft fee-based consulting line at (800) 936-5200. For more information about the support options available from Microsoft, please see the following page on the World Wide Web:

http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/overview/overview.asp

NOTE: The following macro examples only work from within the PowerPoint application. Visual Basic for Applications macros are not supported by the Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer. For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q230746 PPT: Viewer: Presentation Macros Don't Run

Change the string in the Presentations.Open statement to reflect the MS-DOS name. To find the MS-DOS name, follow these steps:

Right-click the shortcut to the presentation, and then click Properties.

Click the General tab, and then look at the MS-DOS name field.

Change the Presentations.Open statement in your macro. Afterwards, it may look something like this:
```
Presentations.Open "c:\windows\desktop\tesppt~1.lnk" 
```
NOTE: .lnk is the extension used by shortcuts.

The macro should now open the presentation.

WORKAROUND

Instead of using a shortcut in the Presentation.Open statement, use the path to the presentation.

REFERENCES

For more information about using the sample code in this article, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q212536 OFF2000: How to Run Sample Code from Knowledge Base Articles

Additional query words: 9.00 ppt9 vba vbe ppt2k powerpt vba2k ppt9.0 ppt2000 program programming

Keywords : kbcode kbmacro kbprg kbdta kbdtacode kbpptvba
Version : WINDOWS:2000
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbprb