Relative hyperlinks are not saved correctly in Office XP

When you create a Microsoft Office XP file that has hyperlinks to external documents or to other files on a network share, the hyperlinks may not work when you reopen the documents. When you open the Hyperlink dialog box, an extra “../” may have been appended to the front of the relative hyperlink path.

This problem may occur if the following conditions exist:

• The files are both shared to the same root share, but in different folders.
• The file you are linking to resides in a folder that is closer to the root of the share than the file that you are creating the hyperlink in.
• The path and file name that you type contains characters that do not match the case of the path and file name of the target documents before you save the document, workbook ,or presentation.

How to obtain the hotfix

This issue is fixed in the Office XP post-Service Pack 3 Hotfix Package released May 9, 2004. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: After you install this hotfix, follow the steps that are listed in the "More Information" section of this article to set the UseCaseInsensitivePathForHyperlink registry key and to activate the hotfix.Note We do not recommend using this fix and using the associated UseCaseInsensitivePathForHyperlink registry key in an environment where case is important, such as with UNIX servers.

To work around this problem, use either of the following methods.

Note Before you use either of the following methods, always save your document, workbook, or presentation to the shared folder before you create hyperlinks to other files in that folder. This creates the necessary base reference for the creation of relative hyperlinks.

Method 1: Manually Set the File Location

When you create the hyperlink, do not type the path, instead use the Link to File dialog box to create the hyperlink:

1. On the Insert menu, click Hyperlink.
2. In the Link to box, click Existing File or Web Page.
3. Click Browse for File.
4. Type the path to the network share, and then press ENTER to list the contents of that share.
5. Click the file you want to hyperlink to.
6. Click OK, and then click OK.

Method 2: Disable "Update Links on Save"

This method prevents PowerPoint or Excel from modifying the hyperlink that you created and preventing possible damage to the link format.

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. Click the General tab.
3. Click Web Options.
4. Click the Files tab.
5. Click to clear the Update Links on Save check box.
6. Click OK.

To activate the hotfix, follow these steps. Warning If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.To activate this hotfix, follow these steps:

1. Quit Excel.
2. Click Start, and then click Run.
3. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
4. Locate, and then click to select the following registry key:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Common
5. After you select the key that is specified in step 4, point to New on the Edit menu, and then click DWORD Value.
6. Type UseCaseInsensitivePathForHyperlink, and then press ENTER.
7. Right-click UseCaseInsensitivePathForHyperlink, and then click Modify.
8. In the Value data box, type 1, and then click OK.
9. On the File menu, click Exit to quit Registry Editor.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.