Error Message: Cannot Obtain Data from Excel fo

ID: Q82278

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 1.0, 1.1, 1.1a
Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 2.0, 2.0a, 2.0a-CD, 2.0b, 2.0c
Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
Microsoft Excel versions 2.1, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0

SUMMARY

This article describes several causes for the following Microsoft Word for Windows error message:

   Cannot obtain data from Excel for <filename>

The information in this article applies to charts created in Microsoft Excel for Windows versions 2.1, 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Word versions listed above. This problem was corrected in Microsoft Word for Windows 95, version 7.0.

MORE INFORMATION

This error message can occur for the following reasons:

1. The Word for Windows document contains an automatic update link to

   a chart in Microsoft Excel and the chart was renamed after the link
   occurred. To maintain a link to a renamed chart, you must change the
   filename in the field to the current name of the chart, and press the
   F9 key to update the field in the Word document.

   To reestablish a link to the renamed chart, make sure that the Field
   Codes option is turned on. In the LINK or DDEAUTO field, change the
   filename to the chart's new name. Be sure to use double backslashes
   in the path, as in the following example:

      c:\\excel\\chart1.xlc

   In version 5.0 of Excel, when a chart sheet name is changed it will
   automatically update to the new name when the link is updated in Word
   6.0.

2. In Excel, the Ignore Remote Requests option is selected in the

   Workspace dialog box. From the Options menu, choose Workspace, and
   clear the Ignore Remote Requests check box. Update the field in Word
   for Windows by pressing the F9 key.

3. Your Excel executable file was renamed to something other than

   EXCEL.EXE. Rename it EXCEL.EXE.

4. When updating a link, Word for Windows actually launches Excel. If

   an Auto_Open macro runs when Excel is launched and the execution of
   that macro exceeds Word's DDE time-out setting, the "Word cannot
   obtain data..." error message occurs.

   To prevent this error when it is caused by DDE time-out, modify the
   DDETIMEOUT=n setting in the Windows WIN.INI file. The value of "n"
   determines the number of seconds Word for Windows waits for DDE data
   from the source application. The default value for n is 30 seconds in
   Word for Windows version 1.x. The default value for n is 60 seconds
   in Word for Windows version 2.0.

   In Word for Windows version 2.0, the DDETIMEOUT setting should be
   placed in the [Microsoft Word 2.0] section of the WIN.INI file as
   follows:

      [Microsoft Word 2.0]
      DDETIMEOUT=n

   In Word for Windows version 1.x, the DDETIMEOUT setting should be
   placed in the [Microsoft Word] section of the WIN.INI file as
   follows:

      [Microsoft Word]
      DDETIMEOUT=n

REFERENCES

"Microsoft Word for Windows User's Guide," version 2.0, pages 684-691, 810

"Microsoft Word for Windows User's Reference," version 1.x, pages 397, 411, 201-203

KBCategory: KBSubcategory: kbfield Additional query words: 1.0 1.10 1.10a 2.0 2.0a 2.0a-cd 2.0b 2.0c 6.0 6.0a 6.0c word6 winword errmsg err msg winword2

Keywords          : kbinterop kbfield 
Version           : 1.x 2.x 6.0 6.0a 6.0c
Platform          : WINDOWS

Last Reviewed: February 6, 1998