shortcuts within documents and setting folder will not open
I look after a small office of 10 computers. The one with this problem are windows xp home and pro. When I try to open any file held in C:\documents and settings\* I get this error....let us use the example of fred.xls which has a shortcut on the desktop. When I double click it I get "C:\documents.xls could not be found. Check the spelling of the file name, and verify the file location is correct. etc etc." When I hit OK then it appears again with "C:\and.xls could not be found....." and when I hit okay for the 3rd time it says "C:\settings.xls could not be found....." and then when I hit ok the file finally opens. If the file name had been "beer suds.xls" then I would have gotten a fourth warning stating "C:\beer.xls could not be found......". If I open the file from within the program, then it opens fine. I thought it was only 1 pc but it appears to be happening on at least 4, yet not all the xp machines. Same with files in the program files folder, because there is a space in them.
ASKER
The quotation marks are present and it happens both with shortcuts and with items that are actually saved on the desktop. I created a shortcut to a file onto the desktop that had no spaces, and it would open fine. Then I renamed it including a space and it would not open. Then after taking the space out of the name, it wouldnt open again.....I'm baffled.
What happens if you create a new shortcut for that item on the desktop?
What happens if you create a new shortcut for the same file someplace OTHER than the desktop... say the root of C?
What happens if you create a new shortcut for the same file someplace OTHER than the desktop... say the root of C?
ASKER
same thing happens regardless of shortcut or file....chokes on space
does it only happen to excel files? or office files? How about .jpg's or graphic files?
ASKER
pdf's jpg's seem to work okay...hmm maybe its the office program, but I thought I had tested something else besides office and it wasnt working.....
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ASKER
Thank you for all of your insight. I have left the office where this is occurring, but when I am back there again I will try it. I had tried deleting the .xls extension file type and then re-adding it and changing some of the advanced parameters. One soln I read said to have the dde checked. But the %1 didnt have "" around it so I will try that as well. I will accept your answer as the solution as I wont be back to that office for about 10 days as I am now on vacation. I have a sneaking suspicion that the problem lay with a recent MS update and the age of the office version they are running (ahem ....97) so I dont want anyone to beat their brains out over this as the solution, although costly, is just to move into this century and get a newer version of office. It was just wierd though how it started out of the blue. Thank you and I will let you know of the outcome.
ASKER
Thank you very much
documents. then c:\and then c:\ settings. If that solves your probelm, then we know what the issue is and will need to find out WHY your shortcuts are doing this.