# Shared Excel links change



## joeny0706 (Feb 3, 2010)

Hi all,

I have a windows 2003 domain setup. The computers are a mix of windows 7 and XP. The office versions that are used is also a mix of office 03 and 07 and 10.


I have a couple shared excel files that are on the server with linked .pdf within. Ever since I put windows 7 with office 7 into the mix there are times that all the links within the excel file just stop working. The linked .pdfs are also on the server. Most of the time all works well. But there are times that the links change. What I mean by change "When you hold the mouse over the cell within the excel file that has the link it does not show the original link."

The win 2003 server name is "nye"


Where the excel file is located and file name
"nye/sales/inventory/gm.xls the file with the links" 

The original linked .pdf and location
"nye\sales\inventory\gm\gm\invoce.pdf

The linked pdf changes to
"nye\sales\@ """some random date and time""" \inventory\gm\gm\invoice.pdf" 

There can be up to 100 linked .pdf files within at times. When this happens they have to go back to each cell and relink the pdf file. They are not happy with me that I have not been able to figure this out.


I have gone on the computers that use these files and disabled autorecover
I unchecked "save autorecover every 10 min" I also checked "disable autorecover for this workbook only".

I can only think that maybe the links are changing when someone has the excel file open and there machine shuts unexpectedly or office does. If that is true I am not sure how to shut it besides what I have done. Besides that I have no idea at all.

I have done alot of googling and have had no luck finding anything like this. So any help is very much appreciated.


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## joeny0706 (Feb 3, 2010)

Anyone have any ideas. This is becoming a big problem and not looking good for me.


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## joeny0706 (Feb 3, 2010)

If my explanation does not make sense and a better explanation of the problem could be helpful let me know and I will do my best to make the issue clear. This is not easy to explain. To me it makes sense but that could be because I am experiencing the issue.

I have been trying to figure this out for a while and was not able to find much anywhere about anything similar to my issue. What I was able to find was not any help.

Again thanks for any help


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## 2xg (Aug 5, 2009)

Hi Joe,

I'll see if I can find someone to assist you that knows Excel and Microsoft Office well.

I have not encountered a similar issue, we also have a mixed O/S's and mixed MS Office versions.


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## joeny0706 (Feb 3, 2010)

2xg said:


> Hi Joe,
> 
> I'll see if I can find someone to assist you that knows Excel and Microsoft Office well.
> 
> I have not encountered a similar issue, we also have a mixed O/S's and mixed MS Office versions.


Thank Much,

I am having a very hard time finding help with this problem.


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## 2xg (Aug 5, 2009)

I wish that I can really help you, if you're getting any respond I don't think that you are being ignored, perhaps they had no clue either what advice to give you.


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## joeny0706 (Feb 3, 2010)

Ya I know. I have posted this in a couple different places and no luck anywhere. I am getting frustrated.

So again anyone with any ideas at all I am hoping for the best.


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## Glaswegian (Sep 16, 2005)

Hi there

I don't think this will help a great deal but we have been having issues with Office 2010 in XP at work. So much so that MS are now investigating. In particular ActiveX controls are causing huge problems by "vanishing" - except they don't vanish as such, they are all compressed onto one single line. General workbook performance is also dreadful. The tech I spoke to stated that Access 2010 was also causing huge problems. I eventually received a Registry fix from MS but this has not helped either. 

My understanding is that several issues were present in Office 2007 and have never been fixed for 2010.

Sorry I don't have links to the MSKB articles I found on this (they are at work) but I wondered if similar issues were perhaps affecting embedded/linked objects as well.

As I said probably not much help.


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## Glaswegian (Sep 16, 2005)

Here's some idea of the problems

ActiveX Controls Lose Location in Excel 2010 - Microsoft Answers

Do your users have Adobe Acrobat installed?

Can't open hyperlink to PDF in Excel 2010 and Adobe Acrobat - Microsoft Answers


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## Glaswegian (Sep 16, 2005)

Finally found an article...hyperlink to a pdf from Excel

When you click a hyperlink to an Adobe Acrobat PDF file in an Office document, Adobe Acrobat Reader starts and then closes without opening the PDF file


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## Glaswegian (Sep 16, 2005)

Possible similar issue?

Embedded PDF documents in Excel 2007 not opening. - Microsoft Answers


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## 2xg (Aug 5, 2009)

Thanks for your assistance, greatly appreciated. :smile:


Glaswegian said:


> Possible similar issue?
> 
> Embedded PDF documents in Excel 2007 not opening. - Microsoft Answers


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## joeny0706 (Feb 3, 2010)

Thanks for your suggestions. The difference is that somehow the link to my pdf's is changing. Once the link is set back to the original one it all opens fine. I did read through all the links above and was not able to find anything like that. 

Again thanks for the suggestions.


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

Perhaps there is a cell formatting issue or excel is misinterpreting the path. Path isn't correct either.

for example
"nye\sales\inventory\gm\gm\invoce.pdf"
should be
\\nye\sales\inventory\gm\gm\invoce.pdf

\\ always proceeds the server name.
\gm\gm indicates someone making folders is ignorant on proper nesting techiques.


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## joeny0706 (Feb 3, 2010)

Wand3r3r said:


> Perhaps there is a cell formatting issue or excel is misinterpreting the path. Path isn't correct either.
> 
> for example
> "nye\sales\inventory\gm\gm\invoce.pdf"
> ...


Yes, I did type them incorrect. I shortened them a bit also. I will put the exact links that work and the ones that they get changed to below. When I hold my mouse over the cells that work this is shown

File:///\\nye\nyeland\sales\inventories\gm\gm dealer invoices\gm2229.pdf

That works


This is what they get changed to.

File:///\\nye\nyeland\@GMT-2012.02.06-18.00.02\sales\inventories\gm\gm dealer invoices\gm2060.pdf this is only one example The date and time within chaqnges


They will be fine for months at a time. Then one day they will just change. Sometimes the change happens and is not noticed for a couple days and by then they have already entered new ones into the excel sheet. The new ones will work fine. But the ones that changed will never work again until the correct link is set again.


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

the question then is how the links are getting updated.

does this happen if you protect the cells and the worksheet?


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## Glaswegian (Sep 16, 2005)

See here for description of the way Excel manages links

Description of link management and storage in Excel

Sorry I could not find anything more on this.


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## joeny0706 (Feb 3, 2010)

I was looking at some of the excel options and I found an option within the excel options/ advanced section where there is an option to check “Update links to other documents”. This is currently checked. I have not been able to research much yet about what that option does. Have you ever seen that and does anyone know what that does. I do not want to make any changes yet without know for sure what that will affect.


I just found out today that when one of the employees opens the Excel file a box will appear saying that adobe has stopped responding. I am not sure what the pops up says. This is just what he told me it says or something similar. “So he could be way off from what is really happening” I am not even sure why adobe would be doing anything just from opening an excel file. The linked files are pdf’s but this error pops up before anything is even done. This is right when the excel file is opened, before he even tries to do anything within the sheet. He said this does not happen all the time and was not able to reproduce it yet so that I can see what it does. I am just going by what he told me. I do not think the two problems could be related but I just wanted to mention that. I just found out about it 20 min ago for the first time.

Thanks all Very Much



I am going to look at the link provided above later on. I have been doing alot of research and still not having luck. 
The hard part is that is is a random event so I will have no way of knowing if the problem is fixed unless I change somehting then wait 6 months or however long without it happeneing again.


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## joeny0706 (Feb 3, 2010)

joeny0706 said:


> I was looking at some of the excel options and I found an option within the excel options/ advanced section where there is an option to check “Update links to other documents”. This is currently checked. I have not been able to research much yet about what that option does. Have you ever seen that and does anyone know what that does. I do not want to make any changes yet without know for sure what that will affect.



The "update links to other documents" option is in the excel options the under advanced.

But above the selection is says “When calculating this workbook" then under that is the option for "update links to other documents" 

I just wanted to mention the part about it being under the "When calculating this workbook" section.


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

You seemed to have missed my point. 

If you protect the cells with the links they can't be changed. 

You can protect just those cells and then protect the workbook so those cells are protected.


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## Glaswegian (Sep 16, 2005)

AFAIK the updating links is simply updating any formula links that may exist from your main workbook to another workbook. I do not believe this is connected to your issues.

Based on your last posts I'm wondering if Adobe is the cause of your problems?


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## joeny0706 (Feb 3, 2010)

I can not do the protect. These links are changed deleted and new ones created daily. Plus the girls who create them don't know how to do much more than to create them. that adobe issue I was just told about and not sure if it has ever happened in the past when this has happened before. I am going to start asking more people on Monday to see if I can find out if anyone else has ever seen that. But since the change happened more than a month ago new ones have been added and they are still fine. The new ones have been working but the ones before the change still have the incorrect links.


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

"These links are changed deleted and new ones created daily"

There is the source of your problem. Nothing wrong with excel. Nothing wrong with the network. This is a user error.

Have them consider instead of updating the links that they only update the target file. You have a link to file xyz.pdf. It contains ABC but you want it to contain EFG. You update xyz.pdf to contain EFG but you don't edit the excel link.

Also its pretty lame not to protect a worksheet. We have tones of network based forms and they get updated all the time. But for people to be able to tab between fields the workbook needs to be protected. Pretty easy to unprotect, make changes and then protect again.


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## joeny0706 (Feb 3, 2010)

Ok Thanks for sticking with me with this post.

I will need to look into the worksheet more. It may be protected but I am not sure. Also when the links change the whole sheet changes at one time. Also why would that date and time be entered into the new link that it assigns if it is some type of user error. Do you have any idea of what the user can be doing to make the whole sheet change at one time and also the date/time entered into the link like I have shown in a previous post. 

This worksheet and the others like it that this is happening to are all inventory files. The sheet contains entrees that are stock. When we get new stock it is entered into the sheet and the stock number is linked to the new invoice. So we cannot just edit the .pdf. I will look into the details about the protection. Also it would seem like the user error would be when entering new links if that is the reason. If that is the case the problem could still happen even if they are protected when the user has to unprotect it to make changes it could just happen then if that is the case. I am not the big into excel at the moment but will be looking into it more. 

I am going to look into the adobe issue more and will let you know what I find out.


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

Should have migrated to a database or software inventory program years ago.
Excel is not unlimited in its records keeping which is why most of us migrated to either databases or software.


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## joeny0706 (Feb 3, 2010)

Wand3r3r said:


> Should have migrated to a database or software inventory program years ago.
> Excel is not unlimited in its records keeping which is why most of us migrated to either databases or software.


Yes, I do agree very much. I have also mentioned this to them but that are not willing to change. This way works is what they tell me. They only have 100 or less entrys so the volume is not to much of a problem but it still would be much better if it was a database.


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