OFF2000: Error Message "Cannot connect to the FTP server" When You Access an FTP Site (230560)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Excel 2000
  • Microsoft Access 2000
  • Microsoft PowerPoint 2000
  • Microsoft Word 2000
This article was previously published under Q230560

SYMPTOMS

In the products listed above, when you click Open on the File menu, select a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) site, and then click Open, error messages similar to the following may appear:
Cannot connect to the FTP server on the computer named 'ftp.microsoft.com'.

-and-

The folder 'ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/' isn't accessible. The folder may be located on an unavailable volume or protected with a password.

CAUSE

This problem may occur if you are connected to the Internet by a proxy server, and the FTP proxy settings are not set correctly in Microsoft Internet Explorer.

RESOLUTION

To prevent this problem from occurring, correct the FTP proxy settings. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, point to Settings, and 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 box to the right of the FTP box.
  9. Click OK, click OK again, and 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 products listed at the beginning of this article.

If you still cannot connect to an FTP site, check with your network administrator and determine whether you are referring to the correct FTP gateway server. To check 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 click OK.
NOTE: You may need to quit and restart the program before you connect to an external FTP site.

MORE INFORMATION

In the products listed at the beginning of this article, 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:

To Connect to an FTP Site

  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 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 drive.

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.

The programs listed at the beginning of this article require that the FTP proxy settings be correct when you access an external FTP site. This is because these programs do not use the HTTP protocol to emulate FTP; the FTP proxy settings are used instead. If you select the Use the same proxy server for all protocols check box in the Internet Options icon in Control Panel, you may be unable to access external FTP sites with Office programs.

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:1/27/2005
Keywords:kbprb KB230560
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