WD2000: "Cannot Find the File..." Error When You Open Word Document in Windows Explorer (209768)

SYMPTOMS

If your global template (Normal.dot) contains an AutoExec macro that waits a specified period of time, when you double-click a Word document (for example, in Windows Explorer), you may receive an error message similar to the following, and the file that you double-clicked does not open:

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

Filename is the name of the file that you are trying to open.

CAUSE

This error message may occur if your global template (Normal.dot) contains an AutoExec macro that runs a loop to wait a specified period of time.

For example, if you have an AutoExec macro in Normal.dot which loops for three minutes, you may receive the error message after the looping routine is completed, as in the following sample macro:

Sub AutoExec()
Dim sLoadPath As String
Dim theTarget as String
   theTarget = Timer + 180 '//delay 3 minutes
   Do While Timer < theTarget
   Loop
End Sub

WORKAROUND

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For more information about how to use the sample code in this article, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

212536 OFF2000: How to Run Sample Code from Knowledge Base Articles

To work around this problem and programmatically a wait routine, use the OnTime method. To do this, create macros similar to the following examples.

Create the following AutoExec macro that uses the OnTime method to immediately execute another macro (CheckDocOpen) to check if a document is already open:

Sub AutoExec()
   Application.OnTime When:=Now + TimeValue("00:00:00"), _
      Name:="CheckDocOpen"
End Sub

Create the following CheckDocOpen macro. This macro again checks if a document is open. If a document is not open, the macro waits two seconds and runs the AutoExec macro again.

Sub CheckDocOpen()
   If Documents.Count = 0 Then
      Application.OnTime When:=Now + TimeValue("00:00:02"), _
         Name:="AutoExec"
   Else
      AutoExecReal
   End If
End Sub

Create the following AutoExecReal macro. If the CheckDocOpen macro finds an open document, it calls the AutoExecReal macro, which contains your intended macro code that runs a wait routine:

Sub AutoExecReal()
   ' Real code meant for AutoExec goes here.
   theTarget = Timer + 180 '//delay 3 minutes
   Do While Timer < theTarget
   Loop
End Sub

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about using a wait routine, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

212667 WD2000: How to Implement a Delay in Visual Basic for Applications