Microsoft KB Archive/132929

= PRB: "DDE Connection Failed" When Viewing a File =

Article ID: 132929

Article Last Modified on 12/9/2003

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Visual SourceSafe 4.0 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Visual SourceSafe 5.0 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft SourceSafe
 * Microsoft SourceSafe
 * Microsoft Visual SourceSafe 3.04
 * Microsoft Visual SourceSafe 3.1 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft SourceSafe
 * Microsoft SourceSafe
 * Microsoft SourceSafe
 * Microsoft SourceSafe

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This article was previously published under Q132929



SUMMARY
Occasionally, you may get the error message "DDE Connection Failed" when you view a file within SourceSafe. Other errors may be returned, such as "Unable to Execute..." or "Error Opening...".



CAUSE
This problem occurs when SourceSafe cannot open a file with its default editor. This may be due to the editor file being moved, deleted, or mapped to a different network drive.



RESOLUTION
To work around this problem, you must tell SourceSafe what editor to use for a specified file:

 Open the SS.INI file for that user (NOTE: The SRCSAFE.INI file may be used, but it is not suggested since each machine may be configured differently). Add the line to tell SourceSafe the correct associations and file locations. Example:

.DOC = C:\MSOFFICE\WINWORD\WINWORD.EXE %1

NOTE: The %1 is needed to tell the DDE connection that this is the file that should be opened.

IMPORTANT: If the applications path contains spaces, you must enclose the entire path in quotes (""), such as:

.DOC = "C:\MS OFFICE\WINWORD\WINWORD.EXE" %1

 Close and restart SourceSafe for the changes to take effect.

If you still have problems opening a file for viewing, then make sure that the following have been checked:


 * 1) The path to the .EXE is correct.
 * 2) The .EXE file exists.
 * 3) The extension is correct.
 * 4) The extension line was put above any section headers in the INI file.

This technique can also be used to override any associations that may be made with files. For instance, a user may want to view a .C file in Notepad, rather than starting Visual C++ every time.

Keywords: kbprb KB132929

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