Re: Can't access web based help for progams like Excel, Word

[Mike Williams]

SoniaC wrote:
> I'm running Windows XP professionalVersion 5.1 build 2600 Service Pack 2,
> IE6 and Office 2000. Used to be able to access the help menus but now get
> messages saying 'action cancelled, internet explorer unable to link to the
> web page you requested.' Don't have any other problems with accessing web
> pages, email etc. I don't know how to overcome this - any ideas?

One of the Office newsgroups might be a better source of information.

[Wesley Vogel]

You cannot open HTML Help files from Internet Explorer after you install
security update 896358 or Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=902225

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In news:109C04B6-0A3D-4958...@microsoft.com,
SoniaC <Son...@discussions.microsoft.com> hunted and pecked:
> I haven't tried the Office newsgroups as the problem is not only with
> office programs.

[SoniaC]

Thank you - I have indeed installed update 896358 (my pc is set for automatic
updates). Is there any other way I can access web based help pages? I
frequently need to access the help pages for my Windows programs, Norton, etc
and I'm lost without them.

[Wesley Vogel]

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=902225#XSLTH4130121123120121120120

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=902225#XSLTH3123121124120121120120

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In news:5FDB0BBD-D717-4BDE...@microsoft.com,

[SoniaC]

I'm sorry but I must be like a car driver who has no idea what the engine is!
I've read the articles and still don't know if or how I can work around the
problem. The articles talk about what one can do with chm files (does Excel
help for example come into this category?) but I don't get any options to do
anything - just a message saying IE cancelled the action. So sorry to be
frustrating!

[Pete Lees [MVP]]

Sonia,

> I'm sorry but I must be like a car driver who has no idea what the engine is!
> I've read the articles and still don't know if or how I can work around the
> problem. The articles talk about what one can do with chm files (does Excel
> help for example come into this category?) but I don't get any options to do
> anything - just a message saying IE cancelled the action. So sorry to be
> frustrating!

In programs such as those in the Office 2000 suite, the help files are
stored locally as compiled HTML Help (.chm) files and are not out on
the World Wide Web. So the error messages you're seeing are a little
misleading, borne of the fact that the HTML Help format uses Internet
Explorer to display the help content.

Are you accessing these programs and their help files over a network?
If so, the problem is caused by the 896358 security update, but the
workarounds are as described in these articles:

http://www.grainge.org/pages/authoring/ms05-026/ms05-026_update.htm
http://helpman.it-authoring.com/viewtopic.php?t=2870

Or see http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=896054 for Microsoft's
description of the issue.

If you continue to have problems, it would be worth running MJ's Help
Diagnostics, which is available from here:

http://helpware.net/downloads/index.htm#MJs

This will check that all the components required to display HTML Help
files are properly installed on your machine.

--
Pete (Microsoft Help MVP)

[SoniaC]

Thank you - I used the helpware link and it's worked!