ID: Q109972
The information in this article applies to:
If there is a space in the universal naming convention (UNC) path, any of the following problems may occur in Word for Windows:
1. Find File Command
When you choose File Find from the File menu, Word finds no files, even
though the files actually exist in the location indicated. You can view
the files in Windows File Manager, and you can open the files in Word.
The result of an INCLUDE or INCLUDETEXT field is "Error! Not a valid
filename."
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 from the
Tools menu, select the File Locations tab, and then choose the Modify
button.)
No error message occurs, but the data file does not appear in the
Mail Merge Helper dialog box.
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Word versions 6.0 and 6.0a for Windows. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.
Method 1: Remove any spaces from the UNC path.
Method 2: Add the NoLongNetNames=yes setting to the [Microsoft Word]
section of the WINWORD6.INI file. This setting instructs Word
to always use the logical drive letter instead of the UNC path.
For more information about the NoLongNetNames setting, query on
the following words in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
NoLongNetNames and
Word uses the UNC path whenever possible. A space in the UNC path may not cause a problem in other Word commands, even when one of the other problems occurs.
KBCategory: kbnetwork KBSubcategory: Additional query words: 6.0 6.0a network filefind locations 6.0c word6 winword includetext space share name findfile
Keywords : kbnetwork
Version : 6.0 6.0a 6.0c
Platform : WINDOWSLast Reviewed: July 30, 1997