Article ID: 922847
Article Last Modified on 12/12/2007
APPLIES TO
- Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007
- Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003
Important This article contains information about how to modify the registry. Make sure that you back up the registry before you modify it. Make sure that you know how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up, restore, and modify the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
322756 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows XP and Windows Vista
SYMPTOMS
When you try to open a presentation that was saved in a Microsoft PowerPoint format, the presentation does not open. Additionally, you receive the following error message:
CAUSE
This issue may occur if an administrator has restricted the types of presentations that you can open in Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 or in Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003. An administrator can set a registry key to restrict this functionality.
For PowerPoint 2007, the registry key can be set in the 2007 Office System Administrative Templates. For more information, see the "PowerPoint 2007" subsection of the "More Information" section.
For PowerPoint 2003, update 933669 enables an administrator to block the ability to save or to open files in PowerPoint 2003. For more information, see the "PowerPoint 2003" subsection of the "More Information" section.
RESOLUTION
To resolve this issue, disable the restriction on opening presentations that were blocked by the registry settings of PowerPoint. To do this, use one of the following methods.
Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall the operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.
Method 1: Use a trusted location, or create an exempt location
- In PowerPoint 2007, if you trust the file that you want to open, you can move the file to a trusted location to override the registry policy settings.
For more information about how to create, to remove, or to change a trusted location for files, visit the following Microsoft Web site: - In PowerPoint 2003, there are no trusted locations. You can create an exempt location to override the registry policy settings. To create an exempt location, follow these steps:
- Exit PowerPoint 2003.
- Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
- Locate and then click one of the following registry subkeys:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Common
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Common - On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click Key.
- Type OICEExemptions for the name for the key.
- On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click String Value.
- Type a string name, and then press ENTER. For example, type ExemptDirectory.
- Right-click the string name that you typed in step 7, and then click Modify.
- In the Value data box, type the path of the directory that contains the file, and then click OK. For example, if your document is in the C:\My Documents folder, type C:\My Documents in the Value data box.
Note You must create the folder. Any subfolders are not automatically exempted. For any additional folders that you would like to make exempt, repeat steps 6 to 9 by creating string values such as "ExemptDirectory1" and "ExemptDirectory2." - On the File menu, click Exit to exit Registry Editor.
Method 2: Disable the restriction on opening presentations of certain types
Disable the restriction by changing the value of the FileOpenBlock subkey. To do this, follow these steps:
- Exit PowerPoint.
- Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
- Locate and then click one of the following registry subkeys, as appropriate for your version of PowerPoint:
PowerPoint 2007HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\12.0\PowerPoint\Security\FileOpenBlock
PowerPoint 2003
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\PowerPoint\Security\FileOpenBlock
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\11.0\PowerPoint\Security\FileOpenBlock - After you select the subkey that is specified in step 3, locate the DWORD value. The "More Information" section describes the different DWORD values based on the version of PowerPoint.
For example, if the opening of the .mht file type is restricted, locate the "HtmlFiles" DWORD value in the registry for the FileOpenBlock subkey. When you change the value data of "HtmlFiles" from 1 to 0, you can open the .mht files. - Right-click the DWORD value that you want, and then click Modify.
- In the Value data box, type 0, and then click OK.
- On the File menu, click Exit to exit Registry Editor.
Method 3: Contact the system administrator
Contact the system administrator to change the registry settings by changing the policies.
MORE INFORMATION
PowerPoint 2007
To restrict the types of files that you can open or save in PowerPoint 2007, an administrator can use the 2007 Office System Administrative Templates to configure the registry on a client computer.
The following table contains the DWORD names that an administrator can add to the registry to restrict certain file types by using the FileOpenBlock subkey. Additionally, the table contains the corresponding file types that are restricted.
| DWORD value | File types that are restricted |
|---|---|
| OpenXmlFiles | .pptx, .pptm, .potx, .potm, .ppsx, .ppsm, .ppam, .thms, .xml |
| BinaryFiles | .ppt, .pot, .pps, .ppa |
| HtmlFiles | .mht, .mhtml, .html, .htm |
| Outlines | .rtf, .txt, .doc, .wpd, .docx, .docm, .wps |
| Converters | This policy prevents PowerPoint presentations that are in a format that is older than the Microsoft PowerPoint 97 file format from being opened. These presentations are saved by using file types such as .ppt, .pot, .pps, and .ppa. |
Notes
- To download the 2007 Office System Administrative Templates, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
- For more specific information about how to use settings to block the opening and saving of file formats in the 2007 Office programs, visit the following Microsoft Web site, and then see the "Enforce settings by using Group Policy in the 2007 Office system" topic:
PowerPoint 2003
An administrator can restrict the types of files that you can open or save in PowerPoint 2003. This ability was not provided in Office 2003 when it was originally released.
To restrict the types of files that can be opened or saved in PowerPoint 2003, install update 933669. For more information about update 933669, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
933669 Description of the update for PowerPoint 2003: May 8, 2007
To restrict the types of files that you can open or save in PowerPoint 2003, an administrator can use one of the following methods:
- Use the updated Office 2003 Administrative Templates to configure the registry on the client computer.
- Modify the registry by adding a registy key setting on the client computer. To download the Office 2003 Service Pack 3 Administrative Template (ADM), OPAs, and Explain Text Update, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
The following table contains the DWORD names that an administrator can add to the registry to restrict certain file types by using the FileOpenBlock subkey. Additionally, the table contains the corresponding file types that are restricted.
| DWORD value | File types that are restricted |
|---|---|
| BinaryFiles | .ppt, .pot, .pps, .ppa |
| HtmlFiles | .mht, .mhtml, .html, .htm |
| Outlines | .rtf, .txt, .doc, .wpd, .docx, .docm, .wps |
| Converters | This policy will prevent the opening of PowerPoint presentations that are opened by using third-party converters or the Office Compatibility Pack. |
| FilesBeforePowerPoint97 | This policy will prevent the opening of files older than PowerPoint 97 that have file types such as .ppt, .pot, .pps, and .ppa. |
To enable the FileOpenBlock subkey settings, follow these steps:
- Exit PowerPoint 2003.
- Install update 933669 if it is not installed.
- Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
- Locate and then click one of the following registry subkeys:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\PowerPoint\Security\FileOpenBlock
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\11.0\PowerPoint\Security\FileOpenBlockIf the FileOpenBlock subkey does not exist, follow these steps to create it:
- Click to select the Security subkey.
- On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click Key.
- Type FileOpenBlock, and then press ENTER.
- Point to New on the Edit menu, and then click DWORD Value.
- Type the DWORD value that you want to restrict, and then press ENTER. For example, type BinaryFiles.
- Right-click the DWORD value that you typed in step 6, and then click Modify.
- In the Value data box, type 1, and then click OK.
- On the File menu, click Exit to exit Registry Editor.
For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
945799 Error message when you try to save a file in PowerPoint 2007 or in PowerPoint 2003: "You are attempting to save a file that is blocked by your registry policy setting"
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