OFF95: Can't Select Multiple Files in Office Open Dialog Box (130586)

SYMPTOMS

If you use the Open A Document button on the Office toolbar (on the Office Shortcut Bar), and then use the SHIFT or CONTROL key to select multiple files, the first file you click does not remain selected when you click another file.

CAUSE

This behavior occurs because you cannot select multiple files in the Microsoft Office Open dialog box. This dialog box allows you to open files of any type from the My Documents folder by default.

When you use the Open dialog box in one of the individual Office programs, you can select multiple files by holding down the CONTROL key while you click the individual files or by holding down the SHIFT key to select a group of files in sequence. However, the Office Open dialog box does not have this functionality.

Note that when you select a file in the Office Open dialog box and click Open, the program for which the file is registered starts or is activated, and the file is opened in that program.

RESOLUTION

To open multiple files, use the Open dialog box (File menu) in the program in which the files can be opened. Use the SHIFT key to select a group of files in sequence or the CONTROL key to select individual files you want to open.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was corrected in Microsoft Office 97 for Windows.

REFERENCES

For more information about opening files from the Microsoft Office toolbar, click the Index tab in Microsoft Office Help, type the following text

and then double-click the selected text. In the list of topics found, double click the "Open a document" topic to go to the "Open A Document" topic.