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You cannot open or save Office Saved Searches (.oss) files in Outlook

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Article ID:925542
Last Review:January 9, 2007
Revision:1.0
Important This article contains information about how to modify the registry. Make sure that you back up the registry before you modify it. Make sure that you know how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up, restore, and modify the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
256986 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/256986/) Description of the Microsoft Windows registry

SYMPTOMS

When you use the Advanced Find feature in Microsoft Outlook, you may experience the following symptoms:
•You cannot save search results as an Office Saved Searches (.oss) file.
•You cannot open search results that have been saved as an .oss file.
Additionally, when you try to open an .oss file from Windows Explorer or from another location outside Outlook, the .oss file does not open in Outlook.

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CAUSE

This issue may occur if you install an update that includes one of the Outlook security updates that are dated January 9, 2007.

For more information about the Outlook security updates that are dated January 9, 2007, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
924085 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/924085/) Description of the security update for Outlook 2003: January 9, 2007
921594 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/921594/) Description of the security update for Outlook 2002: January 9, 2007
921593 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/921593/) Description of the security update for Outlook 2000: January 9, 2007
Note For security reasons, the Office Saved Searches feature has been disabled by the Outlook security updates that are dated January 9, 2007.

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WORKAROUND

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 the operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.

To work around this problem, reenable the Office Saved Searches feature. To do this, follow these steps:
1.Exit Outlook.
2.Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
3.Locate and then click one of the following registry subkeys:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Outlook\Options\General
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Outlook\Options\General
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Outlook\Options\General
Note If the General subkey does not exist, follow these steps to create the subkey:
a. Click the Options subkey, point to New on the Edit menu, and then click Key.
b. Type General, and then press ENTER.
4. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
5.Type EnableOfficeSavedSearch, and then press ENTER.
6.Right-click EnableOfficeSavedSearch, and then click Modify.
7.In the Value data box, type 1, and then click OK.

Note To disable this feature, type 0 in the Value data box. Or, delete the registry key that is mentioned in step 3.
8.On the File menu, click Exit.

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APPLIES TO
•Microsoft Office Outlook 2003
•Microsoft Outlook 2002 Standard Edition
•Microsoft Outlook 2000 Standard Edition

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Keywords: 
kbsavefile kbopenfile kbtshoot kbexpertisebeginner kbprb KB925542

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