PPT2001: "The Linked Multimedia File Is Unavailable" Message Occurs When You Open Movie File (268397)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft PowerPoint 2001 for Macintosh
This article was previously published under Q268397

SYMPTOMS

When you open a presentation created with Microsoft PowerPoint 97 or 2000 for Windows, if it contains a movie file and you try to play that movie, you may receive the following alert message
The linked multimedia file filename is unavailable. Do you wish to locate it yourself?
where filename is the name of the movie.

If you click Yes, you are then able to find the movie file, and it plays as expected within the presentation.

CAUSE

This behavior can occur if PowerPoint is unable to locate the movie file. The issue is caused by differences between the Microsoft Windows operating system and the Macintosh operating system.

For example, when you insert a movie file into a Macintosh PowerPoint presentation, the location of the movie file is represented by a path that is similar to the following:

HARD DRIVE:Movies:QuickTime:Movie_File

The following is the path to the movie file in a Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows presentation:

C:\Movies\Quicktime\Movie_File.MOV

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, download and install the Microsoft Office 2001 Service Release 1 file. To do so, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.aspx?pid=download&location=/mac/download/office2001/update_905.xml&secid=10&ssid=25&flgnosysreq=True

To temporarily work around this problem, make sure that you place a copy of the movie file into the same folder that contains your PowerPoint presentation. When you open the presentation and double-click the movie icon, PowerPoint 2001 finds and plays the movie file.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was corrected in Microsoft Office 2001 for Mac Service Release 1.

REFERENCES

For additional information about the Office 2001 Service Release, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

294949 OFF2001: Readme for Microsoft Office 2001 for Mac Service Release 1 (SR-1)

Or, visit the Microsoft MacTopia Web site (http://www.microsoft.com/mac) for any additional updates.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:8/4/2006
Keywords:kbbug kbfix KB268397
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