OFF2001: Office Assistant Not Answering Visual Basic Questions (290590)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Excel 2001 for Mac
  • Microsoft PowerPoint 2001 for Macintosh
  • Microsoft Word 2001 for Macintosh
This article was previously published under Q290590
For a Microsoft Office 98 version of this article, see 176476.
For a Microsoft Office 2000 version of this article, see 231955.

SYMPTOMS

When you ask the Office Assistant a question about Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications, you may receive a response similar to one of the following:
The Office Assistant cannot currently answer your questions. Please run the installer application to restore any missing files.

-or-

The help file "MS Excel VBA Help" containing this topic could not be found. Run the installer to add or replace any help files.

CAUSE

If the Office Assistant tries to answer the question but does not point to the expected topic, you may not be in the Visual Basic Editor.

-or-

The errors may indicate that the required Help files have not been installed or have been removed from the installed location. Visual Basic Help files are necessary for the Office Assistant to answer Visual Basic questions.

RESOLUTION

If you are not in the Visual Basic Editor, press OPTION+F11 to open it, and then ask the Office Assistant your question.

If the Office Assistant cannot answer your question while you are in the Visual Basic Editor, install the VBA Help files.

To install the VBA Help files, follow these steps:
  1. Quit all Office programs.
  2. Insert the Microsoft Office 2001 compact disc (CD) into the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive.
  3. Open the Value Pack folder on the Office 2001 CD.
  4. Double-click Value Pack Installer.
  5. You can click Select All or click to select individual items. To install only VBA Help, scroll down to Programmability, click the triangle next to Programmability, and then click to select the VBA Help check box.

    NOTE: Items with triangles indicate sub-items within an item. Click the triangle to expose the sub-items, and click to select any that you want to individually install.
  6. After you select all the items that you want to install, click Continue.
  7. After the installation is finished, you receive a dialog box that states that the operation was successful.

    Click Continue if you want to start the Value Pack Installer again and install additional features. Otherwise, click Quit to complete the installation process.

MORE INFORMATION

Visual Basic Help files are not installed when you drag the Microsoft Office 2001 folder to your hard disk, or when you use the Microsoft Office Installer. They are only available through the Value Pack Installer.

Error Messages Not in Visual Basic Editor

If you are using the main program and not using the Visual Basic Editor when you receive either error message, you are missing basic Help files. (Each program has its own Help files.)

To install the Help files for a particular program, follow these steps:
  1. On the Microsoft Office CD, double-click Microsoft Office Installer.
  2. Click the triangle next to the program in which you are receiving the error message.
  3. Click to select the Help for (program name) check box, and then click Install.
The missing Help files for the program are installed.

REFERENCES

For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

271978 OFF2001: VBE Error Message: The Help File "MS Office VBA Editor Help" Containing This Topic Could Not Be Found

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:10/11/2006
Keywords:kbprb KB290590
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