WD97: How to Disable the Use of UNC

ID: Q171406

The information in this article applies to:

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, click Help in Registry Editor, click the Contents tab, and click to view the "Restoring the Registry" topic.

SUMMARY

Microsoft Word 97 SR-1 allows you to use drive letter mappings and disable Universal Naming Convention (UNC) by using the "DontUseUNC" registry switch.

There are many situations in which a network administrator may prefer to have Word use a mapped drive letter rather than the UNC file location. For example, Word returns a UNC file location similar to the following: 

   \\ServerName\ShareName\FileName
However, when you use the DontUseUNC registry switch, Word returns a drive mapping similar to the following: 

   E:\ShareName\FileName
NOTE: The DontUseUNC switch does not work with earlier versions of Word. It only works with Microsoft Word 97 Service Release 1 or later. The switch also does not affect the Link field, the path to an attached Template, or the Visual Basic Editor (VBE) which is a separate program. In the VBE, if a reference is made to a template on a mapped network drive via the References command on the Tools menu, it stores the path with the UNC information rather than a mapped drive letter.

MORE INFORMATION

By design, when you save a document or change a setting to a location specified with a drive letter, Microsoft Word converts the setting from a location containing a logical drive letter to a UNC location. When you use the DontUseUNC Registry switch, the following new created/attached paths contain the logical drive letter instead of using the UNC path: 

  - The FileName field when the \p switch is used.
  • The IncludePicture field.

    To add the DontUseUNC registry switch, use either of the following methods.

    Method 1: Change the Registry

    WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall Windows 95. 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 online Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe). Note that you should understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs after you edit it. For information about how to do this, click Help in Registry Editor, click the Contents tab, and click to view the "Restoring the Registry" topic.

    IMPORTANT: Quit all instances of Word, including WordMail, before you use the following steps.

    To change the DontUseUNC Registry setting, follow these steps:

    1. On the Start menu, click Run.

    2. In the Open box, type "regedit" (without the quotation marks), 

       and then click OK.
    3. Locate the following registry key: 

          HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\8.0\Word\Options
    4. Double-click the Options key. 

       If an entry exists in the right pane named DontUseUNC, skip to step 7.

   NOTE: Use steps 5-6 only when you are adding the DontUseUNC option to
   the registry.
    5. With the Options key selected, point to New on the Edit menu, 
       and then click DWORD Value. This inserts a new option named "New
   Value #1."
    6. In the right pane of the Registry editor window, do either of the 
       following:

    - If "New Value #1" is selected

      a. Press DELETE on your keyboard to delete the option name "New
         Value #1".

      b. Type "DontUseUNC" (without the quotation marks), and then press
         ENTER.

     This renames the new option to the correct DontUseUNC name.

      -or-

   - If "New Value #1" is not selected

      a. Click to select "New Value #1."

      b. On the Edit menu, click Rename.

      c. Type "DontUseUNC" (without the quotation marks), and then press
         ENTER. This renames the new option to the correct DontUseUNC
         name.
    7. With DontUseUNC selected, click Modify on the Edit menu.

    8. In the Value Data box, type "1" (without the quotation marks). 

       This setting disables the use of UNC and forces Word to use
   a logical drive letter.

   NOTE: Setting "Value Data" to 0 or deleting the DontUseUNC key
   resets Word to the default and allows it to resolve file
   locations using UNC.

    Method 2: Use the RegOptions Macro

    The RegOptions macro is part of the Support8.dot template that is shipped with Word 97 SR-1 Enterprise Update. If you used the SR-1 Patch to update Word, you need to obtain the Support8.dot template separately.

    For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 

       ARTICLE-ID: Q172527
   TITLE     : How to Obtain Word 97 for Windows, Service Release 1.

   ARTICLE-ID: Q172492
   TITLE     : WD: Templates and Wizards Not Included with SR-1 Patch
    To use the RegOptions macro, follow these steps:

    1. On the Tools menu, click Templates And Add-Ins.

    2. Click Add. Select the following folder: 

          Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Macros
    3. Select the Support8 template (Support8.dot). Click OK twice.

    4. On the Tools menu, point to Macro, and then click Macros.

    5. Click to select the RegOptions macro, and then click Run.

    6. Click the Word 8.0 Options tab. Click to select DontUseUNC. In the 

       Setting box, type "1" (without the quotation marks). Click OK.
    7. Quit and restart Word.

    When you reset Word to use UNC by changing the DontUseUNC value from 1 to 0, quit all programs, restart Microsoft Windows and then restart Word.

    For additional information, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 

       ARTICLE-ID: Q145091
   TITLE     : WD: Can't Use NoLongNetNames with Word Versions
               Later Than 6.0

   ARTICLE-ID: Q138418
   TITLE     : WD: Can't Use UNC Drive for Document Path on Some Networks

   ARTICLE-ID: Q136393
   TITLE     : How to Modify the Windows Registry
    Additional query words: sr1 release1 8.0 8.00 
    Keywords          : kbnetwork kbdta kbfaq
Platform          : WINDOWS
Hardware          : x86
Issue type        : kbhowto

    Last Reviewed: July 13, 1999