XL97: Error Messages Appear Clicking Options on Tools Menu

When you click Options on the Tools menu in Microsoft Excel 97, you may receive the following error message: If you click Details, you receive an error message similar to either of the following: Also, when you click OK in the Options dialog box, you may receive an error message similar to any of the following:

These problems occur if you click Options on the Tools menu, click the General tab, and then specify a path that exceeds 53 characters in the Default File Location box.

To work around this problem, make sure that the path does not exceed 53 characters when you type a path in the Default File Location box.

If you already specified a path that exceeds 53 characters in the Default File Location box, do the following:

1. If Microsoft Excel 97 is running, quit the program.
2. Using Windows Explorer, locate the folder that you specified in the Default File Location box. Click the folder to select it.
3. Right-click the folder and click Rename on the shortcut menu. Change the folder name, and then press ENTER.
4. Start Microsoft Excel 97. On the Tools menu, click Options.
   
   NOTE: If the problem still occurs, you may have renamed the wrong folder. Repeat steps 1-4 and use a different folder.
5. Click the General tab.

The path in the Default File Location box should be C:\My Documents. You can specify any folder in the Default File Location box, however, make sure that the length of the path does not exceed 53 characters.

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

In Microsoft Excel 97, you can set the default file location for Microsoft Excel files by doing the following:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options. Click the General tab.
2. In the Default File Location box, type the path that you want Microsoft Excel 97 to use, for example:

         C:\My Documents\Workbooks
   						

   -or-

         \\Server\Share\CJUser\MyWorkbooks

3. When you are done, click OK.

When you display the Open or Save As dialog box, Microsoft Excel 97 uses the path you specified by default in the Default File Location box.

Note that the problems described in this article do not occur when you open or save a workbook; they occur only when you use the Options dialog box.