Problems with "Run Only Allowed Windows Applications" Policy in Windows 95

ID: Q240026

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows 95
  • Microsoft Windows 95 OEM Service Release versions 1, 2, 2.1, 2.5
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

If the "Run only allowed Windows applications" system policy is set to allow only certain programs to be run in Windows 95, you may receive the following error message when you attempt to open a document by double-clicking it in Windows Explorer:

Restrictions
This operation has been cancelled due to restrictions in effect on this computer. Please contact your system administrator.
This error message may occur even if the program that opens the document is on the list of allowed Windows applications.


CAUSE

The problem occurs if the path to the program that opens the document (that is, the program that is associated with the document's file type) contains spaces, but is not enclosed in quotation marks.

This information is located in the registry, under a key of the following form:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\file type\shell\open\command
The path to the program that opens the file type is stored in the (Default) value under this key.


RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, use either of the following methods:

Method 1

Install Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 Service Pack 1 (SP1) or later, and choose to install the Windows Desktop Update component. To obtain Internet Explorer, please visit the following Microsoft Web site:
http://www.microsoft.com/ie

Method 2

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

On systems that are running an earlier version of Internet Explorer or not running Internet Explorer at all, you may be able to work around this problem by either surrounding the entire program path with quotation marks, or by altering the program path to its equivalent short name (8.3) format. To do this:
  1. Start Registry Editor (Regedit.exe).


  2. Locate the (Default) value under the following key


    3. HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\file type\shell\open\command
    where file type is the file type for the document you are trying to open.

  3. On the Edit menu, click Modify. Edit the value data to enclose the path to the program in quotation marks, and then click OK.

    For example, if the original value data is:


    4. C:\Program Files\APP1\Binary Files\APP1.EXE %1
    Change the value to either:
    "C:\Program Files\APP1\Binary Files\APP1.EXE" %1 (notice the quotation marks)

    -or-

    C:\PROGRA~1\APP1\BINARY~1\APP1.EXE %1 (no quotation marks needed)
  4. Quit Registry Editor.



STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.


MORE INFORMATION

For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q178723 Problems with 'Run Only Allowed Windows Application'

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbenv osr2 win95
Version : WINDOWS:95
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbprb


Last Reviewed: October 26, 1999
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