WD95: Problems Opening or Locating Files Using UNC Path

ID: Q239059

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Word for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to connect to, open, or locate a file with a long (UNC) file name, one of the following problems may occur:

Case 1: Advanced Find fails

When you choose Find Now in the Advanced Find dialog box (on the File menu, click Open and then click Advanced), Word finds no files, even though the files actually exist in the location indicated. You can view the files in Windows Explorer, and you can open the files in Word.

Case 2: Error with INCLUDE or INCLUDETEXT Field

The result of an INCLUDE or INCLUDETEXT field may display the following error message:
Error! Not a valid filename.

Case 3: Error in Modify Location dialog box

The following error message occurs when you select a directory on a UNC drive that contains a space in the Modify Location dialog box:
Not a valid directory.
NOTE: To open the Modify Location dialog box, choose Options on the Tools menu, click to select the File Locations tab, and then click Modify.

Case 4: Attaching data source to a mail merge main document fails

When you attempt to attach a data source to a mail merge main document, no error message occurs, but the data file does not appear in the Mail Merge Helper dialog box.


CAUSE

This problem may occur when there is a space in the path or in the name of a file.


WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, map the network drive to a drive letter. Then use the RegOptions macro to reset the default document location. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. On the File menu, click Templates.


  2. Click Add.


  3. Change the Look in box to the Macros folder.

    For example, change to the following folder:


    4. C:\Microsoft Office\Winword\Macros
  4. Select the Macros7.dot file and click OK. Click OK to close the Templates and Add-ins dialog box.

    NOTE: This step adds the Macros7 template to the Global Templates and Add-ins box.


  5. On the Tools menu, click Macro.


  6. In the Macros Available In box, click to select Macros7.dot (Global Template).


  7. In the Macro Name list, click to select RegOptions and then click Run.


  8. In the Section box, click to select Word 7.0 Options.


  9. In the Options list, click DOC-path.


  10. In the Setting box, type the path to the network location as in the following example:


    11. G:\<folder name>
  11. Click OK.



STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was corrected in Microsoft Word 2000.


MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about problems you may encounter when trying to access files using a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path, please click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q186958 WD95: Can't Use UNC Drive for Document Path on Some Networks
Q152771 WD95: Error Setting Document Location to Banyan or Pathworks

Additional query words: nolongnetnames dontuseunc

Keywords : kbdta word7 word95
Version : WINDOWS:7.0,7.0a
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbbug


Last Reviewed: August 12, 1999
© 2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Terms of Use.