Microsoft KB Archive/212290

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OFF2000: "Open Programs" Message Appears When You Click Hyperlink to Program

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Q212290

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Excel 2000
 * Microsoft PowerPoint 2000
 * Microsoft Word 2000

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SYMPTOMS
In any of the Office 2000 programs listed at the beginning of this article, when you click a hyperlink that links to an executable file or a file containing macros, you may receive the following message:

Opening file: path to file/file name.

Some files can contain viruses or otherwise be harmful to your computer. It is important to be certain that this file is from a trustworthy source.

Would you like to open this file? In PowerPoint, you receive this message when you do the following:


 * 1) Insert an action button on a slide and add a hyperlink to it.
 * 2) Add a hyperlink to an executable file.
 * 3) Run the slide show and click the action button.

This behavior occurs regardless of your Security Level settings.

To locate your Security Level settings, point to Macro on the Tools menu, and then click Security.

CAUSE
This message is issued by Microsoft Office, not by the individual programs of Office 2000. This warning is referred to as the "open programs" warning message, not the "macro virus protection" warning. This message appears whenever you create a hyperlink to a program or run a program. You also receive this message when you click a hyperlink to certain types of document files. You cannot disable this message. Similar behavior occurs in other Microsoft Office programs that allow hyperlinks.

This feature is designed into Microsoft Office to protect your computer from malicious code.

WORKAROUND
For any Office program (if the file contains only a hyperlink; that is, no action button), you can work around this behavior by viewing the page in a Web browser. Clicking the link while viewing the page in the program generates the message in the "Symptoms" section; clicking the link while viewing the page in the browser does not generate the message.

To work around this behavior in PowerPoint 2000, you can use the Run Program option instead of the Hyperlink option in the Action Settings dialog box. This prevents the "open programs" message from appearing, in most cases.

NOTE: You can also use a lower Macro Security setting in PowerPoint to reduce the frequency of the macro virus warning; however, Microsoft does not recommended this procedure unless you are absolutely sure that your macros are safe.

In PowerPoint 2000, if you are trying to open a non-HTML document by using a hyperlink, you can also use the Run Program option to bypass the message. To do this, follow these steps:


 * 1) Click to select the object for which you want to set an action setting.
 * 2) On the Slide Show menu, click Action Settings.
 * 3) Click Run Program, and then click Browse.
 * 4) Select the program that opens the document, and then click OK.
 * 5) While the Action Settings dialog box is open, place the insertion point after the end of the path to the program. Type a space, and then type the path to the document. For example, type
 * 6) Click OK.

MORE INFORMATION
Microsoft Office 2000 cannot scan your floppy disks, hard disks, or network drives to find and remove macro viruses. To obtain this kind of protection, you must purchase and install specialized anti-virus software. For more information about using anti-virus software with Microsoft Office 2000, browse to the following Microsoft Web site:

"http://office.microsoft.com" Microsoft Office 2000 offers the following levels of security to reduce macro virus infections:

High: You can run only macros that have been digitally signed and that you confirm are from a trusted source. Before trusting a source, you should confirm that the source is responsible and uses a virus scanner before signing macros. Unsigned macros are automatically disabled, and the presentation is opened without any warning.

Medium: Microsoft Office 2000 displays a warning whenever it encounters a macro from a source that is not on your list of trusted sources (described later in this article). You can choose whether to enable or disable the macros when you open the document. If the document might contain a virus, you should choose to disable macros.

Low: If you are sure that all the document and add-ins that you open are safe, you can select this option, which turns off macro virus protection in Microsoft Office 2000. At this security level, macros are always enabled when you open documents.

If the security level for Microsoft Office 2000 is set to Medium or High, you can maintain a list of trusted macro sources. When you open a document or load an add-in that contains macros that were developed by any of these sources, the macros are automatically enabled.

NOTE: When you open a template or load an add-in that was already installed with PowerPoint 2000, macros within the file are automatically enabled. You can have PowerPoint warn you about previously installed design templates and add-ins, according to the level of security that you chose.

For more information about security levels, click Microsoft (program) Help on the Help menu, type change security level for macro virus protection in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic.