XL97: Error Updating or Modifying Link to DDE Server Program

In Microsoft Excel 97, if you click Update Now, Automatic, or Manual in the Links dialog box, you may receive the following error message: If you click Details, you receive an error message similar to any of the following: In addition, Microsoft Word 97 or Microsoft PowerPoint 97 may stop responding.

This problem occurs when you do the following steps:

1. In a Microsoft Excel worksheet, you enter a formula that is linked to a dynamic data exchange (DDE) server program.
   
   For example, the formula may be similar to the following:

         =StockSrv|Prices!MSFT
   						

2. In the Links dialog box, you attempt to open the DDE server program by clicking Open Source.
   
   Note that when you do this, you receive the following error message:
   Cannot start the source application for this object.
3. You click Update Now, Automatic, or Manual in the Links dialog box.

NOTE: This problem does not occur in earlier versions of Microsoft Excel.

To work around this problem, do not click Open Source in the Links dialog box when the selected source file is a DDE server program.

If the problem occurs, Microsoft Word 97 or Microsoft PowerPoint 97 may stop responding. When this happens, press CTRL+ALT+DEL and close any programs are not responding.

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

In Microsoft Excel, you can create a formula that returns information from a DDE server program. The syntax of such a formula is as follows: <ServerName> is usually the name of an .exe file, without the .exe file name extension, for example, StockSrv. <Topic> and <Value> vary from program to program.

When you enter a formula that returns information from a DDE server program, the formula is updated each time the DDE server program broadcasts new information.

When you open a workbook that contains formulas that refer to DDE server programs, you are prompted whether to update the workbook. If you click No, the formulas in the workbook that refer to the DDE server program are not updated properly. If you want the formulas to update properly, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. Click the Calculation tab.
3. Click to select the Update Remote References check box. Then, click OK.

The formulas are updated properly.

There is no need to use the Links dialog box when you are working with formulas that refer to DDE server programs. Attempting to use the Links dialog box to control the connection to a DDE server program may cause problems, for example, the problem described in this article.