For anyone still following this thread, here's what I came up with...
I entered the following into Notepad, and saved it as an .INF file ( I
called it "ExcelFilesWontOpenFix.inf" ):
--------------------------------------------------
[Version]
Signature=$CHICAGO$
[DefaultInstall]
BitReg=Bit.Settings
[Bit.Settings]
HKCU,Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Excel\Options, Options,0x00000001,0x40,0
-------------------------------------------------------
Then to run the file, I use the following vbscript
:
-------------------------------------------------------
Dim WshShell, oExec, strCommandLine
strCommandLine = "rundll32.exe setupapi,InstallHinfSection DefaultInstall
132 \\MyServer\MyFolder\ExcelFilesWontOpenFix.inf"
Set WshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
Set oExec = WshShell.Exec(strCommandLine )
MsgBox "Excel repaired!"
-------------------------------------------------------
....of course, replacing '\\MyServer\MyFolder\' with either the PC folder or
network location as required. I had our users run this from a network
location, saving them a few clicks. This is the command line that Windows XP
associates with installing the .INF file extension in the registry.
And, if you haven't bought the "Microsoft Windows XP Registry Guide" by
Jerry Honeycutt (ISBN 0-7356-1788-0), I strongly recommend it, giving credit
for this fix where credit is due! Thanks to all of you for all of your help
as well!
Joel
"Joel" wrote:
Ahh... That's why I wasn't catching the registry change with WinDiff ... I
didn't close Excel first!
I can find how to set all the option settings through the registry from
here. Thanks for your help! : )
"sebastienm" wrote:
Do you close Excel after changing the setting and re-reading the registry?
Excel writes its setiings when closing.
That is, once you change the setting, you need to close Excel so that it is
written to the registry. Then, if using RegEdit , refresh the key view.
But once again, it is just based on my observation when opening excel, then
only changing this single setting, and finally closing excel.
--
Regards,
Sébastien
<http://www.ondemandanalysis.com
"Joel" wrote:
That was my next question, "What the heck is causing this?" But for now, I'm
just trying to see if there is a way I can set this remotely, without
disrupting the users, for several hundred users. Again, running around from
PC to PC doesn't sound like much fun...
You mention it's part of a bitmask...which one? sebasitan3 wrote to check
the 7th bit of HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Ex cel\Options.
I could try HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\E xcel\Options
since we're on Office XP here. But, when I change the setting in Excel, I
don't notice any change in the registry. Do you have to reboot to see the
change or something?
Thanks again,
Joel
"Rob Bovey" wrote:
Hi Joel,
You can modify the Ignore Other Applications setting directly in the
registry. Unfortunately, it's not a simple True/False setting but rather
part of a bitmask that stores several settings packed into a single numeric
value. Because of this, modifying this setting in the registry correctly is
not that much easier than doing it through Excel.
My real question is why so many people at your organization have Ignore
Other Applications set to True? This is not its default value, but it's very
common for badly written Excel VBA applications to turn this setting off
when they start up and not turn it back on when they exit.
If this is what's going on, then even if you go around and turn it off
you're likely to see it back on as soon as everyone has run the problem
application again. I'd suggest working with a couple of machines for a while
to see if you can narrow down the program that's causing the problem and
either get it fixed or get rid of it.
--
Rob Bovey, Excel MVP
Application Professionals
http://www.appspro.com/
* Take your Excel development skills to the next level.
* Professional Excel Development
http://www.appspro.com/Books/Books.htm
"Joel" wrote in message
...
Short version: Is there a registry setting for the "Ignore Other
Applications" setting?
Long version: Many people here have problems opening Excel files that are
remedied by:
1. Opening Excel, and clicking on 'Tools | Options... | General' tab.
2. Uncheck "Ignore Other Applications".
I also know this property can be set in Excel VBA:
Application.IgnoreRemoteRequests = False
However, there are a LOT of computers that seem to have this problem.
I figured that if this is being stored in a registry entry somewhere,
I
can remotely connect to the user's registry, and set the value to false
from
there, instead of having to run around to 100+ PC's, and repeat the
processes
listed here.
Any ideas? Thanks!