XL: Workbook Doesn't Open When Double-Clicked

ID: Q149764

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

If you are in a program such as Microsoft Mail or Windows Explorer (not in Microsoft Excel) and you double-click a Microsoft Excel document to open it, Microsoft Excel starts, but the file may fail to open.

In Microsoft Excel 7.0 for Windows 95 and Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows, you may receive the following error message:

Cannot find the file 'filename.XLS' (or one of its components). Make sure the path and filename are correct and that all required libraries are available.


CAUSE

When you double-click the file, Microsoft Windows attempts to initiate a dynamic data exchange (DDE) channel to Microsoft Excel. Windows then attempts to send DDE commands to open the clicked file. However, if Microsoft Excel is set to ignore DDE commands, the file will not open.


RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, if you are using Microsoft Excel for Windows, version 5.0, Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, version 7.0, or Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows, use the following steps:

  1. On the Tools menu, click Options.


  2. In the Options dialog box, click the General tab.


  3. Click to clear the Ignore Other Applications check box.


  4. Click OK.


If you are using Microsoft Excel for Windows, version 4.0, use the following steps:

  1. On the Options menu, click Workspace.


  2. Click to clear the Ignore Remote Requests check box.


  3. Click OK.



MORE INFORMATION

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

Q101454 : Excel: Can't Access File through Dynamic Data Exchange

Additional query words: 4.00a 5.00c 8.00 97 


Keywords          : kberrmsg kbinterop xlloadsave xlwin 
Version           : WINDOWS:4.x,5.x,7.0,97
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        :

Last Reviewed: April 15, 1999