Microsoft KB Archive/290118

= OFFXP: Error Message When You Use Quick View: Could Not View , the Viewer Returned an Unknown Error =

Article ID: 290118

Article Last Modified on 1/31/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Excel 2002 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft PowerPoint 2002 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Word 2002 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Windows NT 4.0

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This article was previously published under Q290118



For a Microsoft Office 97 version of this article, see 158748.

For a Microsoft Office 2000 version of this article, see 199825.



SYMPTOMS
When you use Microsoft Quick View to open a file that was created in one of the Microsoft Office XP programs listed at the beginning of this article, no data appears in the preview pane, or you receive following error message

Could not view, the viewer returned an unknown error.

where  is the name of your Office document.



CAUSE
Microsoft Quick View for Windows NT 4.0 cannot directly preview files created in any of the Microsoft Office XP programs.

NOTE: This problem does not occur in Microsoft Windows 98.



RESOLUTION
To resolve this behavior, use either of the following methods.

Microsoft Excel 2002
Save the file in the &quot;Microsoft Excel 97-2002 & 5.0/95 Workbook&quot; format. Microsoft Quick View can preview Microsoft Excel workbooks that you save in this format. To save the file, follow these steps:
 * 1) Open the file in Microsoft Excel 2002.
 * 2) On the File menu, click Save As.
 * 3) In the Save As dialog box, click Microsoft Excel 97-2002 & 5.0/95 Workbook in the Save as type list.
 * 4) Type a new name in the File name box.
 * 5) Click Save and then close the file.

NOTE: When you save a Microsoft Excel 2002 workbook in the &quot;Microsoft Excel 97-2002 & 5.0/95 Workbook&quot; format, you may encounter problems if you open and save the document in earlier versions of Microsoft Excel (for example, some features are not supported in earlier versions of Microsoft Excel).

Microsoft PowerPoint 2002
Save the file in the &quot;PowerPoint 4.0 (*.ppt)&quot; or &quot;PowerPoint 97-2002 & 95 Presentation&quot; format. Microsoft Quick View can preview Microsoft PowerPoint presentations that you save in this format. To save the file, follow these steps:
 * 1) Open the file in Microsoft PowerPoint 2002.
 * 2) On the File menu, click Save As.
 * 3) In the Save As dialog box, click PowerPoint 4.0 in the Save as type list.
 * 4) Type a new name in the File name box.
 * 5) Click Save and then close the file.

If you save in &quot;PowerPoint 97-2002 & 95 Presentation&quot; format, you may receive the error message &quot;There is no viewer capable of viewing files&quot;. If you receive this error message, use the PowerPoint 4.0 format or use Method 2.

Microsoft Word 2002
Save the file in the &quot;Word 97-2002 & 6.0/95 RTF&quot; format. Microsoft Quick View can preview Microsoft Word documents that you save in this format. To save the file, follow these steps:
 * 1) Open the file in Microsoft Word 2002.
 * 2) On the File menu, click Save As.
 * 3) In the Save As dialog box, click Word 97-2002 & 6.0/95 - RTF in the Save as type list.
 * 4) Type a new name in the File name box.
 * 5) Click Save and then close the file.

Method 2: Use &quot;Open File for Editing&quot; in Quick View
If you use Quick View to open a file that was created in any of the Microsoft Office programs listed at the beginning of this article, and you do not see any data in the document, click Open File for Editing on the File menu. This command starts the Microsoft Office program in which the file was created (if it is not running), and opens the file just as if you had opened it directly in that program.



MORE INFORMATION
Quick View, which is installed by Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, allows you to view documents that are created by Windows-based programs without starting the program. If Quick View is not available on the shortcut menu, either the program that created the file does not support Quick View, or Quick View is not installed on the computer. Refer to your Windows NT documentation for information about installing Quick View on your computer.

Additional query words: quickview viewer nt nt4 workstation server winnt prb

Keywords: kberrmsg kbprb KB290118

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