Microsoft KB Archive/118607

PPT: No Preview When Browsing Using UNC

PSS ID Number: Q118607 Article last modified on 05-16-1998

windows:3.0,4.0,4.0a,4.0c

WINDOWS

================================================================ ==

The information in this article applies to:

 == Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows, versions 3.0, 4.0, 4.0a, 4.0c == 

= SUMMARY =

Microsoft Windows operating system version 3.1 supports the use of the Universal Naming Convention (UNC). As a result, you can take advantage of UNC redirection from within Windows-based applications, which means that you can use a network resource without formally connecting to it.

If you are running PowerPoint for Windows on a network that also supports UNC redirection, you should be able to open presentations or browse network shares directly from within PowerPoint and the PowerPoint Viewer. However, when browsing, no preview image appears in the PowerPoint dialog boxes that provide a preview. In addition to the Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer dialog box, this includes the following dialog boxes from within PowerPoint for Windows:


 * File menu, Open command
 * File menu, Open Clip Art command (PowerPoint version 3.0)
 * File menu, Apply Template command (PowerPoint version 3.0)
 * Insert menu, Slides From File command (PowerPoint version 4.0)
 * Insert menu, Presentation Template command (PowerPoint version 4.0)

In Microsoft PowerPoint 3.0, and its PowerPoint Viewer, you will also get the following error message when selecting any of the presentation filenames listed when browsing a network share using UNC:

Sorry, the file cannot be found.

However, if you double-click the presentation filename, it will successfully open the presentation.

= MORE INFORMATION =

To browse for all presentations on a network share using UNC, type the following into the File Name box in the appropriate dialog box

\

where is the server that contains the file, is the share, is the directory in which the file resides, and is the wildcard search string. For example, if you wanted to browse the network share 94SHOWS on the server SHOWSRUS looking for all PowerPoint presentation files in the TRADESHO directory, you would type the following:

\SHOWSRUS\94SHOWS*.PPT

Once you have typed the UNC text and wildcard search string (*.PPT), press ENTER or choose OK in the dialog box to view the files that match the search string at the network location specified.

= WORKAROUNDS =

To see the preview image in the PowerPoint dialog boxes, you must formally connect to the share.

If you have PowerPoint version 4.0, you can use the Find File feature to browse using UNC. Find File allows you to view a different preview image than the preview that displays in the PowerPoint dialog boxes. You can access it by choosing Find File from the File menu or by choosing the Find File button that appears in several of the PowerPoint 4.0 dialog boxes. The UNC information is entered differently in Find File than it is when entering it into the PowerPoint dialog boxes. For example, to search for all PowerPoint files in the TRADESHO directory of the 94SHOWS share on the SHOWSRUS server, you would do the following:


 * 1) Choose the Search button in the Find File dialog box.
 * 2) In the File Name field, type &quot;*.PPT&quot; (without the quotation marks).
 * 3) In the Location field, type “\SHOWSRUS\94SHOWS” (without the quotation marks).
 * 4) Choose OK. Additional query words: 4.00a 4.00c winppt ====================================================================== Keywords : kbnetwork kbusage Version : windows:3.0,4.0,4.0a,4.0c Platform : WINDOWS Hardware : x86 Issue type : kbprb ============================================================================= Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1998.