A presentation does not open in PowerPoint Viewer 2003 when you open the presentation in an e-mail message in Outlook Express

If the following conditions are true, a presentation does not open in Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 Viewer:

• You install Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2).
• You try to open a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation that is in an e-mail message in Microsoft Outlook Express.

This issue may occur because several Open commands were not added to the registry when you installed PowerPoint 2003 Viewer.

To work around this issue, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Save the PowerPoint presentation as an attachment

Save the PowerPoint presentation as an attachment in the Outlook Express e-mail message, and then open the saved presentation in PowerPoint 2003 Viewer.

Method 2: Add registry keys for PowerPoint 2003 Viewer

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 add the required registry keys for PowerPoint 2003 Viewer, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. Locate and then select the following registry key:
   HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PowerPointViewer.Show.11\shell
3. To add the Open command to the key that is specified in step 2, follow these steps:
   1. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click Key.
   2. Type Open, and then press ENTER.
   3. With the Open key selected, point to New on the Edit menu, and then click Key.
   4. Type command, and then press ENTER.
   5. With the command key selected, right-click (Default), and then click Modify.
   6. In the Value data box, type the following, and then click OK:
      C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\PowerPoint Viewer\pptview.exe "%1"
      Note If the path of the Pptview.exe file is different on your computer, type the appropriate path.
4. Locate and then select the following registry key:
   HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PowerPointViewer.SlideShow.11\shell
5. To add the Open command to the key that is specified in step 4, follow these steps:
   1. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click Key.
   2. Type Open, and then press ENTER.
   3. With the Open key selected, point to New on the Edit menu, and then click Key.
   4. Type command, and then press ENTER.
   5. With the command key selected, right-click (Default), and then click Modify.
   6. In the Value data box, type the following, and then click OK:
      C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\PowerPoint Viewer\pptview.exe "%1"
      Note If the path of the Pptview.exe file is different on your computer, type the appropriate path.
6. Locate and then select the following registry key:
   HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PowerPointViewer.Template.11\shell
7. To add the Open command to the key that is specified in step 6, follow these steps:
   1. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click Key.
   2. Type Open, and then press ENTER.
   3. With the Open key selected, point to New on the Edit menu, and then click Key.
   4. Type command, and then press ENTER.
   5. With the command key selected, right-click (Default), and then click Modify.
   6. In the Value data box, type the following, and then click OK:
      C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\PowerPoint Viewer\pptview.exe "%1"
      Note If the path of the Pptview.exe file is different on your computer, type the appropriate path.
8. On the File menu, click Exit to quit Registry Editor.
9. Start Outlook Express, and then open the attached presentation from the e-mail message.