Encarta 97: Lookup Reference Fails with Office, Works, Word (156108)

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Encarta 97 Encyclopedia for Windows
Microsoft Office for Windows 95 Professional edition
Microsoft Office for Windows 95, Standard edition
Microsoft Works for Windows 95, version 4.0

This article was previously published under Q156108

SYMPTOMS

When you use the Lookup Reference tool in Microsoft Office or Microsoft Works to open Encarta, the feature does not work. In Works, you may hear a system error "ding" sound.

In Word, the following error message appears:

Encarta Encyclopedia cannot start
Unable to complete this action while Encarta Encyclopedia windows are open. Close any open dialog boxes or screens in Encarta Encyclopedia, then try again.

CAUSE

Encarta is displaying a modal (active) dialog box. You need to close Modal dialog boxes before you open other dialog boxes, such as the Encyclopedia screen. An example of a modal dialog is the Encarta Media Gallery. You must close this box before Lookup Reference works.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, do the following:

Click OK to clear the error message. If you do not see the error message, press and hold down the ALT keyboard key then press the TAB key (ALT+TAB) repeatedly until you see the error message. Click OK.
Close the open dialog box or Encarta screen, for example, the Media Gallery.
Use the ALT+TAB key combination to return to the referring program. Try the Lookup Reference feature again.

Modification Type:	Major	Last Reviewed:	11/16/2004
Keywords:	KB156108