XL: Error Opening File That Refers to Shortcut

ID: Q132976

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, version 7.0
Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel, when you open a workbook that contains a reference to a shortcut to a workbook, one of the following symptoms occurs:

If the workbook that you open contains the defined name "Auto_Open" that refers to a macro in the shortcut to the workbook, you receive the following error message
```
      Cannot find '<filename>'!<macro>, which has been assigned to run each
      time [<book>] is opened. Continuing could cause errors. Cancel
      opening [<book>]?
```
where <filename> is the name of the shortcut to the workbook that contains your macro, <macro> is the name of the macro you want to run automatically, <book> is the name of the workbook that you are opening that contains the Auto_Open defined name.
If the workbook that you open contains a link to a cell in the shortcut to the workbook, the File Not Found dialog box appears (if you choose to reestablish the link).

CAUSE

In Microsoft Windows 95, you can create a shortcut to any program, document, or printer, and put this shortcut in any folder or on the desktop. This makes it easy to access the objects that you use most frequently. However, if you create a link or reference to a shortcut to a workbook in a Microsoft Excel workbook, the above behavior occurs because Microsoft Excel does not recognize the workbook that the shortcut refers to.

WORKAROUND

To work around this behavior, create the link or reference to the original workbook instead of to a shortcut to the workbook.

STATUS

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

REFERENCES

For more information about creating and using a shortcut in Microsoft Windows, click the Index tab in Windows Help, type the following text

   shortcuts, about

and then double-click the selected text to go to the "More Ways To Customize Windows" topic.

Additional query words: 7.00 8.00 97 XL97

Keywords          : kbprg kbdta xlloadsave KbVBA xlwin 
Platform          : WINDOWS

Last Reviewed: February 3, 1999