A user has recently upgraded from office 2003 to office 2007 on a Windows XP
SP2 machine.
This user used to receive a spreadsheet from a client via email to display
items ands costs, etc.
When opening up the file, the user received a message saying...
--------------------------------------------------
This workbook contains links to other data sources.
-If you update the links, Excel will attempt to retrieve the latest data.
-If you don't update the links, Excel will use the previous information.
Note that data links can be used to access and share confidential
information without your permission and possibly perform other harmful
actions. Do not update the links if you do not trust the source of this
workbook.
Update Don't Update Help
--------------------------------------------------
After clicking on Don't Update, the file opens up fine with all of the
correct data in.
However, we have upgraded this computer to office 2007. When opening up the
same email as before and the same excel attachment, no "data source link
update" prompt appears, and in place of the majority of where information
used to be, is cells filled with #NAME?
When highlighting each cell with these contents the formula bar states...
='C:\Program Files\Microsoft
Office\Office12\LIBRARY\pcas97.xla'!prodlookup("per",A22)
Why? What is causing this?
One other confusing thing is if the email is opened up, and we preview the
attachment in the email, the correct data is displayed, just like it was in
Office 2003, but this document needs to be printed out. If this is attempted
it opens up Excel and prints the file with #NAME? in the cells.
I've had a look in the options of Excel (i'm quite new to office 2007) to
find something to do with this link update prompt that appeared in 2003. I
found something that i thought was it, but it didn't work.
Any ideas on getting around this without reverting back to office 2003?
Bill Manville - 24 Apr 2008 17:10 GMT
Seems to me that you probably had an add-in installed in 2003 called
pcas97.xla, but that you haven't installed the same add-in in 2007.
Alternatively, if the ProdLookup function is actually a macro within
the workbook then you may need to change the security settings in Excel
2007.
Bill Manville
MVP - Microsoft Excel, Oxford, England
No email replies please - respond to newsgroup
Stampie - 30 Apr 2008 14:32 GMT
Thanks for the reply.
I've set Excel to allow all macros, this doesn't correct the problem.
The add-in was what I expected it to be also. I attempted to access terminal
services (office 2003) and using a similar file path, locate the add-in which
I had presumed was with the other add-in files under...
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\Library
The pcas97.xla file wasn't there (even checked hidden files, and checked the
folders in the Library directory). I also checked in the ADDINS folder in the
OFFICE11 directory.
I believe the file may have been created by the originator of the
spreadsheet who is the external party mailing this to us.
I still don't understand how it can work on Office 2003 when i'm unable to
find the add-in where Office 2007 says it should be.
Bill Manville - 01 May 2008 00:05 GMT
I know that the treatment of links is different in 2007 than in 2003
and there are some features that I consider to be bugs (e.g. if you
have links to C:\Folder1\File.xls in an open workbook and you open
C:\Folder2\File.xls the links will be redirected to that opened
File.xls workbook).
One reason for different behaviour in 2007 from 2003 would be if the
sender had saved it in 2003; on opening it in 2007 a full recalculation
is performed and these formulas will not be able to be computed because
the add-in is not present. When you were opening it in 2003 there was
no need for the full recalc and so the previously computed values were
used in the absence of the add-in.
Potential solutions:
- get the sender to give you a copy of the add-in
- get the sender to convert formulas to values before sending the
workbook
- get the sender to save the workbook in 2007 before sending it.
Bill Manville
MVP - Microsoft Excel, Oxford, England
No email replies please - respond to newsgroup
Stampie - 08 May 2008 11:58 GMT
Just received the spreadsheet with the values converted!
Thank you for this.
> I know that the treatment of links is different in 2007 than in 2003
> and there are some features that I consider to be bugs (e.g. if you
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
> MVP - Microsoft Excel, Oxford, England
> No email replies please - respond to newsgroup