PRJ4: Updated Link Does Not Retain Link Reference

Q117248

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Project, when you select an OLE (object linking and embedding) or DDE (dynamic data exchange) link in a project, and you choose the Change Source button, the reference to the link is lost when you change directories.


CAUSE

When the source document for linked information is moved to a different directory or hard disk drive, the links are broken because the path no longer refers to the correct file. (In this case you must manually re- establish the link by choosing Links from the Edit menu.)

When you choose Links from the Edit menu, you can choose a new path to the source document by choosing the Change Source button. This will bring up the Change Source dialog box, which contains the current path and reference for the link. However, if you choose a new directory for the link, the original path for the link is also changed, and the link name is completely removed. The link no longer refers to correct information in the source document (without the link name, the link refers to the entire document.)


MORE INFORMATION

The link name is the portion of a link that comes after the exclamation point. When an OLE or DDE link is created in Microsoft Project, a link string references the source document. The following syntax is used for the link string 


   Absolute_Path\Document_Name!Link_Name
as in the following example 

   C:\winword\test.doc!DDE_LINK1
where DDE_LINK1 is the link name.

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

To create the source document:

  1. In Microsoft Word, type "This is a test" (without the quotation marks).


  2. From the File menu, choose Save As. Save the file as "DOC1.DOC" (without the quotation marks), and choose OK.


  3. Select the word "This" from the test sentence.


  4. From the Edit menu, choose Copy.


To link the copied information to a Microsoft Project document:

  1. In Microsoft Project, choose New from the File menu.


  2. Select the first cell under Task Name.


  3. From the Edit menu, choose Paste Special, select the Paste Link option, and then select Text Data for the data type. Choose OK.


  4. From the File menu, choose Save As, and save the file as "Project1.MPP" (without the quotation marks). Choose OK.


  5. From the Edit menu, choose Links, and choose the Change Source button.


A dialog box will appear that allows you to change directories or source documents. The current link will be shown as the following: 

   C:\WINWORD\DOC1.DOC!DDE_LINK1
To change the directory of the source document:

  1. Change directories by double clicking the C drive.


  2. To switch to the directory that contains DOC1.DOC, double-click the directory name.


  3. From the list of filenames, select the DOC1.DOC file.

    The new link will only show the path, not the path and link name, as in the following example: 
    
      C:\WINWORD\DOC1.DOC


  4. Choose OK to exit the dialog box.


  5. To update the link, Choose Update Now, and choose Close.


Now the information found in the first cell under the Task Name column is displayed as "This is a Test" (without the quotation marks). The whole sentence is displayed because the Link name references the entire document instead of the specific reference within the document.

Additional query words: moving files disconnected

Keywords : kbole
Issue type : kbprb
Technology :


Last Reviewed: November 3, 2000
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