WD2000: Cannot Edit or Activate a Linked Excel Object (224649)

SYMPTOMS

When you click to activate or edit a Microsoft Excel Worksheet or Graph object, you may receive the following error message:

Microsoft Word can't start the application required to open this object. An error occurred and this feature is no longer functioning properly. Would you like to repair this feature now?

If you click No, you receive the following additional error message:

The server application, source file, or item cannot be found. Make sure the application is properly installed, and that it has not been deleted, moved, or renamed.

CAUSE

Case 1

This problem may occur after you change the wrapping style of a Microsoft Excel 2000 Worksheet object that is linked to another object in your document when you attempt to activate the other object.

Microsoft Word loses reference to the bookmark included in the link of the Microsoft Excel object when you change the wrapping style of the object.

NOTE: The bookmark included in the object link is a hidden bookmark. To see references to a hidden bookmark, do the following:

On the Insert menu, click Bookmark.
In the Bookmark dialog box, click to select the Hidden bookmarks check box.

To change the wrapping style of an object, do the following:

Click to select the object.
On the Format menu, click Object.
On the Layout tab, click to select the wrapping style that you want.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

Case 2

This problem may occur when the Microsoft Excel worksheet that contains the graph object has been moved or renamed.

WORKAROUND

Case 1

Do not change the wrapping style of the linked object. Instead, if you want text to flow around linked objects, place them inside a table. For example, if you want the linked objects to appear side-by-side in your document, create a 1 row by 2 column table, and then insert the Excel worksheet object in one table cell and the linked object in the other table cell.

Case 2

To correct this problem, do one of the following:

Rename the Microsoft Excel Worksheet file back to its original file name. Make sure that the file is also in the original location (folder) where it was when the link was created.

-or-
Modify the objects link to the renamed Microsoft Excel Worksheet file. To do this, follow these steps:
1. On the Edit menu, click Links.
2. In the Links dialog box, click to select the link you want to modify, and then click Change Source.
3. In the Change Source dialog box, click to select the renamed Microsoft Excel Worksheet that contains the graph object, and then click Open.
4. In the Links dialog box, click OK.