"Cannot connect to the FTP server" error message when you access an FTP site in Office (290228)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Office Access 2003
  • Microsoft Access 2002
  • Microsoft Office Excel 2003
  • Microsoft Excel 2002
  • Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003
  • Microsoft PowerPoint 2002
  • Microsoft Office Word 2003
  • Microsoft Word 2002
This article was previously published under Q290228
For a Microsoft Office 97 version of this article, see 161437.

SYMPTOMS

In a Microsoft Office program, when you click Open on the File menu, select a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) site, and then click Open, you may receive error messages that are similar to the following:
Cannot connect to the FTP server on the computer named 'ftp.microsoft.com'.
The folder 'ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/' isn't accessible. The folder may be located in an unavailable location, protected with a password, or the filename contains a / or \.

CAUSE

This problem may occur if your computer is connected to the Internet by a proxy server, and the FTP proxy settings in Microsoft Internet Explorer are not correct.

RESOLUTION

To prevent this problem, correct the FTP proxy settings. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
  2. Double-click Internet Options.
  3. Click the Connections tab.
  4. Click LAN Settings.
  5. Click Advanced.
  6. Under Servers, click to clear the Use the same proxy server for all protocols check box.
  7. In the FTP box, type the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) for your FTP gateway server. The following example illustrates the syntax to use:

    ftp://ftpgate

  8. Click to clear the Port check box to the right of the FTP box.
  9. Click OK, click OK again, and then close the Local Area Network (LAN) Settings dialog box.
  10. Click OK to close the Internet Properties dialog box.
You can now connect to an FTP site in the Open dialog box of the programs listed in the "Applies to" section.

If you still cannot connect to an FTP site, ask your network administrator whether you are referring to the correct FTP gateway server.

To verify the FTP server name, follow these steps:
  1. On the File menu, click Open.
  2. Click Add/Modify FTP Locations in the Look in box.
  3. Click the name of the FTP server to which you want to connect, and then click Remove. After you remove the location, type the FTP server name in the Name of FTP Site box, and then click OK.
Note You may have to quit and restart the program before you connect to an external FTP site.

MORE INFORMATION

In Microsoft Office XP programs, you can use the Open dialog box to connect to an FTP site on the Internet and a local intranet. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. On the File menu, click Open.
  2. In the Look in box, click the name of the FTP site, if the FTP site to which you want to connect is listed.

    If the FTP site is not listed, click Add/Modify FTP Locations. Type the name of the FTP site you want to access, select a logon type, and then click OK. In the Open dialog box, click the name of the FTP site you want to access, and then click Open.
The contents of the FTP site are listed in the Open dialog box. You can open folders and files as if they were stored on your local hard disk.

When you access an external FTP site through Internet Explorer, only the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) proxy settings must be correct. This is true because Internet Explorer uses the HTTP protocol, the standard protocol for accessing information on the World Wide Web, to emulate FTP when you connect to an FTP site.

Microsoft Office XP programs require that the FTP proxy settings be correct when you access an external FTP site. This reason that this is required is because these programs do not use the HTTP protocol to emulate FTP; the FTP proxy settings are used instead. If you click to select the Use the same proxy server for all protocols check box in the Internet Options Control Panel, you may not be able to access external FTP sites with Office programs.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:3/23/2006
Keywords:kbnetwork kbopenfile kberrmsg kbprb KB290228 kbAudEndUser
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