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VERY irritating Excel / Powerpoint 2003 linking problem

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Alfons

Wed Jul 12 2006, 12:21PM

Registered Member #134 Joined: Fri Feb 10 2006, 10:44PM
Location: Belgium
Posts: 86

Hi,

I'm using Microsoft Office 2003 on my pc, and I have some powerpoint presentations which are linked to excel sheets, so the graphs shown in the powerpoint get updated automatically.
The presentations & excel sheets have been originally made in Office 2000, but when I open the powerpoint in Office 2003 and try to update the links, I get the following error: Some linked files were unavailable and can't be updated. You might be able to re-establish them using the Links command on the Edit menu.
When I click the Links command, I get a message that the xls to which the ppt is linked, is unavailable, while I'm 100% sure that it is available. If I right-click a linked chart and click "Linked Worksheet Object --> Edit", I get this error message: Microsoft Office Powerpoint can't start the application required to open this object. An error occurred and this feature is no longer working properly. Would you like to repair this feature now?
Clicking "Yes" brings up a progress bar, and a bit later the same error again; clicking "No" obviously doesn't give any result either.

I did some research on this error, and I found some information about Norton causing this (I have installed AVG Free Edition, and I also tried to disable it, with no result) and I also discovered that Office 2000 had issues with long path/filenames but that shouldn't be the problem either since I have 2003 with all the updates / service packs installed etc...

Any ideas on this one?

Part Scavenger

Wed Jul 12 2006, 04:56PM

Registered Member #79 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 11:35AM
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 673

I do stuff with Excel and Powerpoint at work. Switching document from versions of Office is a pain in the butt. You might try opening the Excel spreadsheets in Excel 2003 and resaving them. Usually they'll give you something like "Do you want to update this document?" Then, go to Powerpoint and try to re-link them. Make sure you delete them and re-link from the presentation. Don't just change the source or something.

Hope that helps...

Alfons

Wed Jul 12 2006, 10:16PM

Registered Member #134 Joined: Fri Feb 10 2006, 10:44PM
Location: Belgium
Posts: 86

Thanks for your reply.

I could indeed relink them completely, but the big problem is that I'm not the only person who has to use these presentations: some of my collegues will be needing them too, and they're all running somewhat different versions of office (2003, 2000, XP, 2003 student&teacher etc...) so I guess they will all have a similar problem...

I find it really annoying that Microsoft isn't even capable of making two of their own products 100% compatible! It's logical that a document saved in 2003 can't be opened correctly in 2000, but the other way around should really work if you ask me.

I think I found a clue about what's causing my problem: the original document was saved using a Dutch version of Powerpoint, and I'm using an English version. If I right-click a linked chart in the presentation, I get an option "Link Werkblad Object" instead of "Link Worksheet Object". Could this be a translation-related but in office?

Bjørn

Wed Jul 12 2006, 10:41PM

Registered Member #27 Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 02:20AM
Location: Hyperborea
Posts: 2058

Find the exact nature of the problem, speculating will just waste your time.

1. Restore everything until it is working again then take it from there.
2. Remove everything that is not needed to reproduce the problem.
3. Reproduce the problem from scratch to be 100% sure you understand the problem.

Once you know exactly what the problem is the answer is usually obvious or you know exactly what questions to ask to solve it.

Alfons

Wed Jul 12 2006, 10:50PM

Registered Member #134 Joined: Fri Feb 10 2006, 10:44PM
Location: Belgium
Posts: 86

BjÃ¸rn wrote ...

Find the exact nature of the problem, speculating will just waste your time.

1. Restore everything until it is working again then take it from there.
2. Remove everything that is not needed to reproduce the problem.
3. Reproduce the problem from scratch to be 100% sure you understand the problem.

I understand the fact that you're telling me this, but I don't think it's of much use here: I do not know the exact nature of my problem; if that was the case, it'd be rather easy for me to find an answer, or at least to know where to look.
To comment on your steps:
1. Impossible: it only works on another computer, running the same version of office but in another language
2. Ok
3. I understand the problem, but not what's causing it!

...

Thu Jul 13 2006, 12:36AM

Registered Member #56 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 05:02AM
Location: Southern Califorina, USA
Posts: 2445

is it possible that the location of the links are hard coded in the file somehow, so by changing computers the files aren't in the same place as before so it can't find them?

Part Scavenger

Thu Jul 20 2006, 11:52AM

Registered Member #79 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 11:35AM
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 673

...they're all running somewhat different versions of office (2003, 2000, XP, 2003 student&teacher etc...) so I guess they will all have a similar problem...

Yes they will. If I'm not mistaken, if you save a file in a newer version of an Office Program like 2003, something like 2000 (and especially '97) won't open it again (not easily anyway). We have trouble with that all the time, our company bought all new Office licences mainly to fix that problem.

BTW, I'd be willing to bet it's not Norton. It's the differring Office versions. I'll bet "..."'s idea has something to do with it as well.

Alfons

Thu Jul 20 2006, 08:24PM

Registered Member #134 Joined: Fri Feb 10 2006, 10:44PM
Location: Belgium
Posts: 86

Part Scavenger wrote ...

BTW, I'd be willing to bet it's not Norton. It's the differring Office versions. I'll bet "..."'s idea has something to do with it as well.

You're right (I haven't even got Norton installed). I discovered what's causing the problem. In the Dutch version of Excel, a new graph / chart automatically gets the name "Grafiek 1" (which means as much as "Chart 1"). If you open the file in an English Excel-version, the name automatically gets translated to "Chart 1"; but the PowerPoint links which refer to the graph, are not translated, thus still referring to "Grafiek 1", which doesn't exist anymore!

The solution: manually name all graphs

Part Scavenger

Fri Jul 21 2006, 03:21PM

Registered Member #79 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 11:35AM
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 673

Heh, the joy of computers! They save so much time...

Glad you got it working.

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