Excel 2000 58 character Filename Limit?

[NickH]

Does anyone have any guesses as to why my Excel 2000 template might be
crashing, with an automation error, when it tries to save a workbook
with a filename longer than 58 characters (including extension)?

Bizarrely the workbook will have originally been created and saved by
the same template - the filename having been derived from information
provided by the user at startup.

Now I have built an upgrade facility into the template so that old
workbooks can have their data pulled into new copies of a modified
template. It is after upgrading and then saving a backup copy of the
old Workbook and/or the upgraded copy that Excel decides to get fussy
about the length of filename.

Anybody any clues?

NickH

 

[NickH]

It appears I may have jumped the gun here. So far this only happenening
to a single file and it happens whether I save the file
programmatically or manually. Almost as though the workbook has been
corrupted by the PC that created it (somewhere in Europe).

A wierd form of corruption though, and I'd still like to hear from
anyone with any insight on this. It may yet turn out to be a
show-stopper.

NickH

 

[Dave Peterson]

I don't have a guess...

But maybe it's the name that's being use (although, I don't think it should have
caused excel to crash--your macro can crash, but not excel!).

Are you saving the file with the same name (manually and via code)?

If no, what's the name of the file you try to use when it blows up real good?

 

[NickH]

Thanks for your interest Dave.

I can't post the actual filename as it contains customer sensitive
information but it is in the following format...

123456 A Long Customer Name IT Project Name Weekly Report 060720.xls

The VBA code first tries to save the original file with "OLD_" prefixed
to the original name and then saves the upgraded version using the
original name. It crashes with an automation error (The object invoked
has disconnected from its clients) at the first save then comes up with
the 'Send Error Report' dialog followed by a memory reference error. If
I comment out the first save the same thing happens at the second save.

Exactly the same thing happened (every time) if I tried to save
manually using the same names. I use the past tense because when I come
to test the behaviour now, manual saves seem to work fine. The only
thing that's different really is that I've closed Outlook.

Very strange.

I'll get chance to test on more machines in the office on Thursday. If
I'm lucky it may just be my machine.

NickH

 

[Dave Peterson]

One of the few times I've seen that disconnected from client message was when I
closed the wrong workbook and tried to do something with the variable that
represented that closed workbook. (It was a simple typo.)

Maybe you can review your code once more???

 

[NickH]

The thing is Dave, it only falls over when upgrading this one
particular workbook. Like I say, if I shorten the workbook's name to 58
characters or less it runs fine.

Other workbooks with equally long filenames, in the same format as
mentioned above (there are no non-alpha-numeric characters), don't have
a problem.

NickH

 

[NickHK]

You saving all these files with the same path also ?
Excel 2K will error on full path+filename over 218 chars.
Although not with that error, but 'File Cannot be found"

NickHK

 

[NickHK]

That was for .Open, not sure for .SaveAs, but you could test.
Also, I have seen different behaviour using .SaveAs v. SaveCopyAs with
Unicode paths.
The former fails, the latter succeeds with exactly the same Path/Filename.

NickHK

 

[NickH]

Thanks NickHK,

Yes, all saving to the same folder and maximum path+filename
combination coming out at around 150 characters.

However, this does appear to be related to that chestnut because if I
move the files up the directory tree nearer to the root the problem
dissappears!

There is also some wierd link with Outlook regarding manual saves. If
Outlook is closed manual saves work fine, if its open one or two of the
longer filename workbooks crash to the 'Send Error Report' dialog. Then
I have to kill the EXCEL.EXE process in Task Manager.

The client Uses Lotus Notes so I can probably get away with an entry in
the trouble-shooting section of the manual regarding long path+filename
combinations.

Thanks for your help chaps.

Kind regards,
NickH