Article ID: 958174 - Last Review: August 5, 2009 - Revision: 4.1

You cannot open a network share from a hyperlink in a Word 2007 document or in an RTF e-mail message

In a Microsoft Office Word 2007 document (.docx) or in a Rich Text Format (RTF) e-mail message, you create a hyperlink to a folder that is located on a network drive. The hyperlink contains a drive letter. If you disconnect the network drive, you cannot open the network share from the hyperlink.

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Steps to solve this problem

To fix this problem, follow these steps:

This issue is fixed in the Word 2007 hotfix package (Word.msp) that is dated October 28, 2008. Therefore, you should apply and install this hotfix package.

For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
957697 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/957697/ ) Description of the Word 2007 hotfix package (Word.msp): October 28, 2008
Enable the hotfix.

To have us enable the hotfix for you, go to the "Fix it for me" section. If you prefer to enable this hotfix yourself, go to the "Let me fix it myself" section.

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Fix it for me
To enable the hotfix automatically, click the Fix it button or link. Click Run in the File Download dialog box, and then follow the steps in the Fix it wizard.

Fix this problem
Microsoft Fix it 50088

Note this wizard may be in English only; however, the automatic fix also works for other language versions of Windows.

Note if you are not on the computer that has the problem, save the Fix it solution to a flash drive or a CD and then run it on the computer that has the problem.

Next, go to the "Did this fix the problem?" section.

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Let me fix it myself
Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
322756 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/ ) How to back up and restore the registry in Windows
To resolve this issue, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. Type regedit, and then click OK.
3. Locate and then click the following registry subkey: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Word\Options
4. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
5. Type UseUNCPathInFileAttachAsHlink, and then press ENTER.
6. Right-click UseUNCPathInFileAttachAsHlink, and then click Modify.
7. In the Value data box, type 1, and then click OK.
8. Exit Registry Editor.

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Did this fix the problem?

Check whether the problem is fixed by opening the network share from the hyperlink. If the network share opens, you are finished with this article. If the problem is not fixed, you can contact support (http://support.microsoft.com/contactus) .

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