XL2002: Universal Naming Convention Path of Files in Shared XLSTART Folder Points to Local Folder (284869)

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel 2002

This article was previously published under Q284869

SYMPTOMS

When you view a link to a remote Microsoft Excel workbook in the formula bar, that link may point to a non-existent file in the XLSTART folder on the local computer.

CAUSE

This behavior occurs when all of the following conditions are true:

You open a workbook that resides on a network share.

-and-
That workbook contains a link to another workbook in the XLSTART folder or a subfolder of the XLSTART folder on that remote computer.

-and-
The XLSTART folder on the remote computer is shared as XLSTART.

The path to XLSTART is virtualized. Therefore, external links to XLSTART, or any folders in XLSTART, refer to the current user's XLSTART folder.

WORKAROUND

To work around this issue, do not use the XLSTART folder to share files across a network.

MORE INFORMATION

This behavior affects only those files or folders stored in the XLSTART folder for a specific user profile. For example

Drive:\Documents and Settings\user name\Application Data\Microsoft\Excel\XLSTART

where user name is your user name on the computer.

For more information about linking files, click Microsoft Excel Help on the Help menu, type link in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topics returned.

Modification Type:	Major	Last Reviewed:	8/6/2002
Keywords:	kbprb KB284869