PPT97: Run-Time Error When Opening Shortcuts Programmatically

ID: Q161596

The information in this article applies to:

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

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Change the string in the Presentations.Open statement to reflect the MS-DOS name. Do the following to find the MS-DOS name:

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

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

3. 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 additional information about getting help with Visual Basic for Applications, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 

   ARTICLE-ID: Q163435
   TITLE     : VBA: Programming Resources for Visual Basic for
               Applications
Additional query words: 97 8.00 kbmacro ppt8 vba vbe kbmacro 
Keywords          : kbcode kbmacro kbprg kbdta kbdtacode kbpptvba 
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Platform          : WINDOWS
Hardware          : x86
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: May 17, 1999