You cannot open Visio 2000 or Visio 2002 files by using the Visio Viewer 2002 (831396)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Visio 2000 Standard Edition
  • Microsoft Visio 2000 Professional Edition
  • Microsoft Visio 2000 Enterprise Edition
  • Microsoft Visio 2000 Technical Edition
  • Microsoft Visio 2002 Professional
  • Microsoft Visio 2002 Standard

SYMPTOMS

When you try to view a Microsoft Visio 2002 or a Microsoft Visio 2000 .vsd or .xml document with the Microsoft Visio Viewer 2002 by double-clicking the file, you may receive the following error message:
Windows cannot open this file:

File: Visio_Drawing.vsd

To open this file, Windows needs to know what program created it. Windows can go online to look it up automatically, or you can manually select from a list of programs on your computer.
If you remove the Visio Viewer 2002 and then try to open the files using Visio 2000, you still receive the same error message.

CAUSE

This problem occurs when the Visio Viewer 2002 has been installed from an administrative installation point on a per-computer basis, instead of on a per-user basis. This causes the first run behavior of the Visio Viewer Windows Installer file (*.msi) to break all file associations that belong to Microsoft Visio when the Visio Viewer 2002 is run by a user who does not have permissions to modify the Windows Registry for that computer.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, you must repair the existing Visio 2000 installation. To repair a Visio 2000 installation, follow these steps:
  1. Quit all programs that are running on your computer, including any antivirus programs.
  2. Insert the Visio 2000 installation CD in your CD/DVD-ROM drive.
  3. Click Install Visio 2000.
  4. On the Welcome to the Visio Installation Manager window, click Next.
  5. On the Setup Operation window, click Reinstall/Repair, and then click Next.
  6. On the Setup Preview window, click Next.
  7. Click Finish.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about deploying Microsoft Visio Viewer 2002, visit the following MSDN Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/prodtechnol/visio/visio2002/deploy/viewdply.asp?frame=true
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:9/10/2004
Keywords:kbRepair kbopenfile kbtshoot kberrmsg kbpending kbBug kbsetup KB831396 kbAudITPRO kbAudEndUser
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