Relative hyperlinks in saved Office XP documents may not work as expected (886668)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Office XP
  • Microsoft Excel 2002
  • Microsoft PowerPoint 2002
  • Microsoft Word 2002
Important This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry

SYMPTOMS

When you save a file in Microsoft Excel 2002, in Microsoft PowerPoint 2002, or in Microsoft Word 2002 that contains hyperlinks to other files, you may receive an error message that is similar to the following:
The address of this site is not valid. Check the address and try again.

CAUSE

This problem may occur if the following conditions are true:
  • The files are located on the same network server.
  • The files are located in separate shares on the server.
Note A share is considered a volume by the operating system. This means that it is not possible to refer to the server as the parent of the share in a relative link.

RESOLUTION

How to obtain the hotfix

This issue is fixed in the Microsoft Office XP Hotfix Package that is dated October 8, 2002. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

885878 Description of the Microsoft Office XP post-Service Pack 3 hotfix package: October 8, 2004

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a bug in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

MORE INFORMATION

Warning If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.
To activate this hotfix, follow these steps:
  1. Quit all the Microsoft Office XP programs that are running.
  2. Click Start, click Run, type Regedit, and then click OK.
  3. Locate and then click to select the following registry key:

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Common

  4. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
  5. Type HypAlternateResolveToRel, and then press ENTER.
  6. Right-click HypAlternateResolveToRel, and then click Modify.
  7. In the Value data box, type 1, and then click OK.
  8. On the File menu, click Exit to quit Registry Editor.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:4/7/2006
Keywords:kbOfficeXPpostSP3fix kbprb kbtshoot kbQFE kbfix kbHotfixRollup KB886668 kbAudITPRO kbAudEndUser
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