You receive an error message and cannot open the files saved with a UNC path in PowerPoint 2003 (818225)

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003

SYMPTOMS

When you open the Play.bat file that is created by the Package for CD feature in PowerPoint 2003, and the batch file location is being accessed by using a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path (example: \\servername\sharename...\Play.bat), you may receive the following error message:

PowerPoint Viewer is not able to find the file <UNC path>\file.ppt

CAUSE

This issue may occur if the working directory is not set correctly to the location of the batch file, or the Viewer cannot resolve the locations of files on a UNC path that is referenced in the playlist file.

Note This issue does not occur when the package is saved to the local directory.

WORKAROUND

To work around this issue, connect to the network location by mapping the drive letter to the network share that contains your presentation.

-or-

Create a shortcut for executing the command in the batch file that uses a fully qualified UNC path (use double-quotes around expressions if the path contains spaces). The following is an example of what your batch file may contain:

Run:  "\\server\share\Package for CD\pptview.exe" /L "\\server\share\Package for CD\playlist.txt"

Modification Type:	Minor	Last Reviewed:	1/12/2006
Keywords:	kbopenfile kberrmsg kbprb KB818225 kbAudEndUser