SYMPTOMS
When you attempt to connect to, open, or locate a file with a long file name (UNC), one of the following problems may occur:
Case 1: Advanced Search fails
When you choose
Find Now in the
Advanced Find dialog box (on the
File menu, click
Open and then click
Advanced), Word finds no files, even though the files actually exist in the location indicated. You can view the files in Windows Explorer, and you can open the files in Word.
Case 2: Error with INCLUDE or INCLUDETEXT Field
The result of an INCLUDE or INCLUDETEXT field may display the following error message:
Error! Not a valid filename.
Case 3: Error with Modify Location dialog box
The following error message appears when you select a folder on a UNC drive that contains a space in the
Modify Location dialog box:
Not a valid directory.
NOTE: To open the
Modify Location dialog box, click
Options on the
Tools menu, click to select the
File Locations tab, and then click
Modify.
Case 4: Attaching data source to a mail merge main document fails
When you try to attach a data source to a mail merge main document, no error message appears, but the data file does not appear in the
Mail Merge Helper dialog box.
WORKAROUND
To work around this problem, turn off the use of Universal Naming Convention (UNC) in Microsoft Word 97 by using the DontUseUNC switch.
For additional information about the DontUseUNC switch, please click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
171406 WD97: How to Disable the Use of UNC