XL97: Reference Incorrectly Listed as "MISSING" in MS Excel 97

ID: Q175863

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel 97, if you open a workbook that contains references to other files, some or all of the references may be listed as "MISSING" in the References dialog box. This behavior occurs even though the referenced files are located in folders that Microsoft Excel 97 should automatically search.

This behavior may cause problems when you run any macros that rely on references, when you switch to Microsoft Excel 97 from any other version of Microsoft Excel, or when you open a workbook on a computer that uses a different folder structure from the computer on which you created the workbook.

CAUSE

This problem occurs because Microsoft Excel 97 does not automatically search all the same locations that other versions of Microsoft Excel search.

RESOLUTION

To correct this problem, obtain and install Microsoft Excel 97, Service Release 1 (SR-1). For information about how to obtain this service release, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q172475
   TITLE     : OFF97: How to Obtain and Install MS Office 97 SR-1

If you are unable to install Microsoft Excel 97 SR-1, you can work around this problem by doing any of the following:

Move the referenced files into the folders in which they existed when you created the references.
Move the referenced files into the same folder as the referencing file.
Move the referencing file into the same folder as the referenced files.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was corrected in Microsoft Excel 97 SR-1.

MORE INFORMATION

When you create a workbook that uses Visual Basic for Applications macros in Microsoft Excel, you can create references to other files, such as workbooks, add-ins, XLL files, dynamic-link library files (DLLs), or object libraries (OLBs). To create a reference in Microsoft Excel 97, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, point to Macro, and click Visual Basic Editor. Or,

   press ALT+F11.

2. In the Visual Basic Editor, click References on the Tools menu.

3. If the file to which you want to create a reference is already in the

   list, click to select the check box next to the reference.

   Otherwise, click Browse. Use the Add Reference dialog box to select
   the file to which you want to create a reference, and then click Open.

4. Click OK.

When you create a reference to another file, the path to that file is stored in the workbook.

When you open the workbook, Microsoft Excel may search for referenced files in the locations that are listed in the following table.

   Location   Description
   ----------------------------------------------------------------------

   1          The folder in which the file existed when you created the
              reference

   2          The folder in which the referencing file (the workbook you
              are opening) currently exists

   3          The folder in which the Microsoft Excel progrm, Excel.exe,
              currently exists

   4          The Windows folder (for example, C:\Windows)

   5          The Windows\System folder (for example, C:\Windows\System)

   6          Any folders listed in the PATH statement in your
              C:\Autoexec.bat file

   7          Any folders listed in the following key in the registry:

                 HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\8.0\Excel\ 

                    Microsoft Excel\AddIn Path

              NOTE: This key is present only if you install Microsoft
              Excel 97.

Different versions of Microsoft Excel search for referenced files in different locations. The locations that the different versions search are listed in the following table.

   Version                    1*    2     3     4     5     6     7
   -----------------------------------------------------------------

   Microsoft Excel 5.x       yes   yes   yes   yes   yes   yes

   Microsoft Excel 7.0       yes   yes   yes   yes   yes   yes

   Microsoft Excel 97        yes   yes

   Microsoft Excel 97 SR-1   yes   yes   yes   yes   yes   yes   yes

*The numbers represent folders that are described in the previous table.

Additional query words: XL97 xla sr1

Keywords          : xlloadsave xlvbainfo 
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbbug

Last Reviewed: November 6, 1998