OLE link between word and excel dies

[Bruce]

I have posted on this in the Word.applications group several times
over several years with no resolution. I am wondering if the MVPs
lurking in the Excel forums have any suggestions for me.

Here's my most recent experience:

Has anyone heard of a fix for the long standing bug where an OLE link
between Word and Excel dies - sometimes permanently, sometimes only
for a minute or two?

I just had a particularly nasty recurrence that probably requires
rebuilding the spreadsheet again as the Excel link in Word is dead and
replaced by a picture of what the displayed area was when the link
died. When the link dies, you get an error message that Excel has had
a problem and must close. Unfortunately, once the link dies, if you
select the object and it comes up as a picture, you cannot recover the
link again. If you just ignore the warning, do nothing and wait a
while, the link often re-connects. I tried to continue, but as
always, The hurrieder I go the behinder I get.

I am actually using Word, and just filling in the blanks in a
spreadsheet window created in word by selecting Insert > Excel
Spreadsheet and then typing within the spreadsheet window. I
don't even know where the spreadsheet resides so I can try to recover
it.

This has been a problem since at least Office XP and is no better in
2007. I have had MS work on this for me in both versions many times
over the years and it remains unresolved. All files are local, and on
the same drive/partition. ( on each of the several systems I have had
this problem with ) Memory load, other running programs, and default
printer have no effect on the liklihood of a recurrence. All systems
with this problem are XP - fully patched at the time.

any thoughts?

 

[macropod]

Hi Bruce,

Using Word, look in Edit|Links to see where the linked wb resides.

If you're regularly having problems with the links failing (and you're not changing anything about the filepath to the Excel wb),
your Office installation may have a fault. Try running Help|Detect & Repair.

If, on the other hand, the links are failing because you're changing the fielpath to the Excel wb (even if the Word doc is in the
same folder), you *must* update the link path (which you can do via Edit|Links).

 

[Bruce]

Macropod -

I have tried the repair routine on both Word 2003 and 2007 with no
effect. However, you may be on to something that others have
overlooked previously - a path change.

Although the location of the original file does not change, the Word
file is re-saved in a new location. For example: I have a partially
completed document I use as a template ( I think I generally use a
docx file and then use Save As for child copies). Let's say this
parent document is located in a folder called 2009. When I create a
child document from this, it will be saved in a subfolder of 2009
called (Month). This works for probably 90+% of the time with no
issues whatsoever. But regularly, albeit occasionally, that link will
break down. Not when saving, but most often when the file is active
AND the window to the Excel file is selected and open.

I also just had another thought which could be nothing more than a
total distraction - could this link be breaking if Word does an
AutoSave while the Excel link is open and perhaps unable to update? I
know nothing about how the OLE process works, or what is done to the
file during an autosave, but it seems that acting on one file while it
is linked to another could be fraught with problems.

I do know that the link does die in files that have been renamed and
resaved to a child location weeks or even months in the past. I do
not recall if this problem has been seen very early while a child file
is being developed, but before it has been resaved under a new name in
a new location.

Finally, I can find the Edit | Links references for Word 2003, but I
have not been able to locate the Word 2007 equivalent whether or not I
have selected the linked object. Any guidance on this?

Thanks for the insights!

Bruce

Hi Bruce,

Using Word, look in Edit|Links to see where the linked wb resides.

If you're regularly having problems with the links failing (and you're not changing anything about the filepath to the Excel wb),
your Office installation may have a fault. Try running Help|Detect & Repair.

If, on the other hand, the links are failing because you're changing the fielpath to the Excel wb (even if the Word doc is in the
same folder), you *must* update the link path (which you can do via Edit|Links).

--
Cheers
macropod
[Microsoft MVP - Word]

I have posted on this in the Word.applications group several times
over several years with no resolution.  I am wondering if the MVPs
lurking in the Excel forums have any suggestions for me.

Here's my most recent experience:

Has anyone heard of a fix for the long standing bug where an OLE link
between Word and Excel dies - sometimes permanently, sometimes only
for a minute or two?

I just had a particularly nasty recurrence that probably requires
rebuilding the spreadsheet again as the Excel link in Word is dead and
replaced by a picture of what the displayed area was when the link
died. When the link dies, you get an error message that Excel has had
a problem and must close.  Unfortunately, once the link dies, if you
select the object and it comes up as a picture, you cannot recover the
link again.  If you just ignore the warning, do nothing and wait a
while, the link often re-connects.  I tried to continue, but as
always, The hurrieder I go the behinder I get.

I am actually using Word, and just filling in the blanks in a
spreadsheet window created in word by selecting Insert > Excel
Spreadsheet      and then typing within the spreadsheet window.  I
don't even know where the spreadsheet resides so I can try to recover
it.

This has been a problem since at least Office XP and is no better in
2007.  I have had MS work on this for me in both versions many times
over the years and it remains unresolved.  All files are local, and on
the same drive/partition.  ( on each of the several systems I have had
this problem with )   Memory load, other running programs, and default
printer have no effect on the liklihood of a recurrence.  All systems
with this problem are XP - fully patched at the time.

any thoughts?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

 

[macropod]

Hi Bruce,

In Word 2007, you can customize the QAT to add the Edit|Links option to it. See under Word Options|Customize|All Commands > Edit
Links to Files.

I really don't know whether having the Excel file open whilst editing & saving the Word document would make any difference - IMHO it
shouldn't.

--
Cheers
macropod
[Microsoft MVP - Word]


Macropod -

I have tried the repair routine on both Word 2003 and 2007 with no
effect. However, you may be on to something that others have
overlooked previously - a path change.

Although the location of the original file does not change, the Word
file is re-saved in a new location. For example: I have a partially
completed document I use as a template ( I think I generally use a
docx file and then use Save As for child copies). Let's say this
parent document is located in a folder called 2009. When I create a
child document from this, it will be saved in a subfolder of 2009
called (Month). This works for probably 90+% of the time with no
issues whatsoever. But regularly, albeit occasionally, that link will
break down. Not when saving, but most often when the file is active
AND the window to the Excel file is selected and open.

I also just had another thought which could be nothing more than a
total distraction - could this link be breaking if Word does an
AutoSave while the Excel link is open and perhaps unable to update? I
know nothing about how the OLE process works, or what is done to the
file during an autosave, but it seems that acting on one file while it
is linked to another could be fraught with problems.

I do know that the link does die in files that have been renamed and
resaved to a child location weeks or even months in the past. I do
not recall if this problem has been seen very early while a child file
is being developed, but before it has been resaved under a new name in
a new location.

Finally, I can find the Edit | Links references for Word 2003, but I
have not been able to locate the Word 2007 equivalent whether or not I
have selected the linked object. Any guidance on this?

Thanks for the insights!

Bruce

Hi Bruce,

Using Word, look in Edit|Links to see where the linked wb resides.

If you're regularly having problems with the links failing (and you're not changing anything about the filepath to the Excel wb),
your Office installation may have a fault. Try running Help|Detect & Repair.

If, on the other hand, the links are failing because you're changing the fielpath to the Excel wb (even if the Word doc is in the
same folder), you *must* update the link path (which you can do via Edit|Links).

--
Cheers
macropod
[Microsoft MVP - Word]

I have posted on this in the Word.applications group several times
over several years with no resolution. I am wondering if the MVPs
lurking in the Excel forums have any suggestions for me.

Here's my most recent experience:

Has anyone heard of a fix for the long standing bug where an OLE link
between Word and Excel dies - sometimes permanently, sometimes only
for a minute or two?

I just had a particularly nasty recurrence that probably requires
rebuilding the spreadsheet again as the Excel link in Word is dead and
replaced by a picture of what the displayed area was when the link
died. When the link dies, you get an error message that Excel has had
a problem and must close. Unfortunately, once the link dies, if you
select the object and it comes up as a picture, you cannot recover the
link again. If you just ignore the warning, do nothing and wait a
while, the link often re-connects. I tried to continue, but as
always, The hurrieder I go the behinder I get.

I am actually using Word, and just filling in the blanks in a
spreadsheet window created in word by selecting Insert > Excel
Spreadsheet and then typing within the spreadsheet window. I
don't even know where the spreadsheet resides so I can try to recover
it.

This has been a problem since at least Office XP and is no better in
2007. I have had MS work on this for me in both versions many times
over the years and it remains unresolved. All files are local, and on
the same drive/partition. ( on each of the several systems I have had
this problem with ) Memory load, other running programs, and default
printer have no effect on the liklihood of a recurrence. All systems
with this problem are XP - fully patched at the time.

any thoughts?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -