The File Open dialog box does not automatically select the first available document in an Office 2003 program (832889)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Office Word 2003
  • Microsoft Office Excel 2003
  • Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003
  • Microsoft Office Outlook 2003
  • Microsoft Office Access 2003
  • Microsoft Office Publisher 2003
  • Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003
Important This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry

SYMPTOMS

When you click File and then click Open to bring up the Open dialog box in a Microsoft Office 2003 program, such as Microsoft Office Word 2003, the program does not automatically select the first available document that is listed in the Open dialog box and the Open button is unavailable.

CAUSE

This behavior occurs because the AutoSelect feature has been disabled in Office 2003.

RESOLUTION

Warning If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.
To resolve this behavior, you must create a Windows Registry value and set the value to zero.
Follow these steps, and then quit Registry Editor:
  1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
  2. Locate and then click the following key in the registry:

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Common\Open Find

  3. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
  4. Type DisableAutoSelect, and then press ENTER.
  5. On the Edit menu, click Modify.
  6. Type 0, and then click OK.

Note When this fix is enabled, the Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) code that uses the SelectedItems property will function as expected.

MORE INFORMATION

This behavior is different from earlier versions of Office because if the AutoSelect feature is enabled in the Open dialog box, and you view a folder on a network share that contains many files and folders, you may experience a delay of two to five minutes before the Open dialog box is populated and the first available Office 2003 document is selected.

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

818792 OffXP: Long delay in the display of file names from the "File Open" dialog box

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:3/23/2006
Keywords:kbRegistry kbopenfile kbprb KB832889 kbAudEndUser
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