A hyperlink that contains three forward slashes contains only one forward slash when you insert the hyperlink into a Word 2003 document

When you insert a hyperlink that contains three forward slashes (/) into a Microsoft Office Word 2003 document, the hyperlink contains only one forward slash. Therefore, the hyperlink is not valid.

This problem was first fixed in a hotfix that is now contained in a service pack. If you installed the latest Office 2003 service pack, you do not have to install the hotfix.

Service pack information

This problem is corrected in Office 2003 Service Pack 3.To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Office 2003. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.

After you install the service pack, follow the steps that are listed in the "How to activate this hotfix" section of the article to set the AllowConsecutiveSlashesInUrlPathComponent registry key and to activate the hotfix.

Hotfix information

How to obtain the hotfix

This issue is fixed in the Microsoft Office 2003 post-Service Pack 2 Hotfix Package that is dated November 10, 2005. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

How to activate this hotfix

To activate this hotfix, follow these steps:

1. Quit Word 2003.
2. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
3. Locate and then click to select the following registry key:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Common
4. After you select the key that is specified in step 3, point to New on the Edit menu, and then click DWORD.
5. Type AllowConsecutiveSlashesInUrlPathComponent, and then press ENTER.
6. Right-click AllowConsecutiveSlashesInUrlPathComponent, and then click Modify.
7. In the Value data box, type 1, and then click OK.
8. On the File menu, click Exit to quit Registry Editor.

To work around this problem, use one of the following methods:

• Paste the correct hyperlink into the Word document.
• Click the hyperlink that you inserted into the Word document, and then press ALT+F9. Type the missing forward slashes to correct the hyperlink, and then press ALT+F9.
• Start Microsoft Internet Explorer. Then, paste the correct hyperlink into the Address bar.

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

This problem was first corrected in Office 2003 Service Pack 3.