PPT: No Preview When Browsing Using UNC
  
PSS ID Number: Q118607
Article last modified on 05-16-1998
 
windows:3.0,4.0,4.0a,4.0c
 
WINDOWS
 

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The information in this article applies to:
 
 - Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows, versions 3.0, 4.0, 4.0a, 4.0c
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SUMMARY
=======
 
Microsoft Windows operating system version 3.1 supports the use of the
Universal Naming Convention (UNC). As a result, you can take advantage of
UNC redirection from within Windows-based applications, which means that
you can use a network resource without formally connecting to it.
 
If you are running PowerPoint for Windows on a network that also supports
UNC redirection, you should be able to open presentations or browse network
shares directly from within PowerPoint and the PowerPoint Viewer. However,
when browsing, no preview image appears in the PowerPoint dialog boxes
that provide a preview. In addition to the Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer
dialog box, this includes the following dialog boxes from within PowerPoint
for Windows:
 
 - File menu, Open command
 - File menu, Open Clip Art command (PowerPoint version 3.0)
 - File menu, Apply Template command (PowerPoint version 3.0)
 - Insert menu, Slides From File command (PowerPoint version 4.0)
 - Insert menu, Presentation Template command (PowerPoint version 4.0)
 
In Microsoft PowerPoint 3.0, and its PowerPoint Viewer, you will also
get the following error message when selecting any of the presentation
filenames listed when browsing a network share using UNC:
 
   Sorry, the file cannot be found.
 
However, if you double-click the presentation filename, it will
successfully open the presentation.
 
MORE INFORMATION
================
 
To browse for all presentations on a network share using UNC, type the
following into the File Name box in the appropriate dialog box
 
   \\<server>\<share>\<path>\<search string>
 
where <server> is the server that contains the file, <share> is the share,
<path> is the directory in which the file resides, and <search string> is
the wildcard search string. For example, if you wanted to browse the
network share 94SHOWS on the server SHOWSRUS looking for all PowerPoint
presentation files in the TRADESHO directory, you would type the following:
 
   \\SHOWSRUS\94SHOWS\TRADESHO\*.PPT
 
Once you have typed the UNC text and wildcard search string (*.PPT),
press ENTER or choose OK in the dialog box to view the files that match the
search string at the network location specified.
 
WORKAROUNDS
===========
 
To see the preview image in the PowerPoint dialog boxes, you must
formally connect to the share.
 
If you have PowerPoint version 4.0, you can use the Find File feature
to browse using UNC. Find File allows you to view a different preview
image than the preview that displays in the PowerPoint dialog boxes. You
can access it by choosing Find File from the File menu or by choosing
the Find File button that appears in several of the PowerPoint 4.0
dialog boxes. The UNC information is entered differently in Find File than
it is when entering it into the PowerPoint dialog boxes. For example,
to search for all PowerPoint files in the TRADESHO directory of
the 94SHOWS share on the SHOWSRUS server, you would do the following:
 
1. Choose the Search button in the Find File dialog box.
 
2. In the File Name field, type "*.PPT" (without the quotation marks).
 
3. In the Location field, type "\\SHOWSRUS\94SHOWS\TRADESHO" (without the
   quotation marks).
 
4. Choose OK.
Additional query words: 4.00a 4.00c  winppt
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Keywords          : kbnetwork kbusage
Version           : windows:3.0,4.0,4.0a,4.0c
Platform          : WINDOWS
Hardware          : x86
Issue type        : kbprb
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Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1998.