Thanks for any help you can provide. Here's what is happening:

I have a series of linked Excel 2002 spreadsheets that are updated by
users and emailed thru Outlook each month. The sheets are password
protected, keeping users from disturbing formulas and links. Data
entry areas are unprotected. Users are instructed not to open directly
from Outlook attachment, to first detach the file & then open using
Windows Explorer or Excel directly. They also do not change the
filename.

Each month, an average of 30-40% of the files return with broken
links. Many times the new link lists a "temp" directory. My thinking
is that when being opened from an attachment Outlook first saves to a
temp or other directory [on the users computer] and this procedure
then changes the links. When the message appears on file opening to
"Update Links?" they are instucted to answer "NO" and proceed to
update the file, save, and return via email.

Is there any way to stop this from happening? I'm in process of
creating the 2004 series, and if a programming or other solution can
be implemented it will save many hours each month.

Thanks for any insights...

Rick

If the problem is the links, then the solution would be to eliminate the
links. I don't know what the requirement is to access the links, but if the
data is static during the period the workbooks is in the hands of the users,
it might be better to put the data in each workbook.

If that isn't an option, a simple macro to restablish the links might be the
solution. You can change links at the workbook level in Edit =Links, then
change source. You can do the same in code. I don't know how many
workbooks you are linked to, but hopefully the order would stay in tact so
you would know which ones to change.

--
Regards,
Tom Ogilvy

"Rick Robinson" wrote in message
om...
Thanks for any help you can provide. Here's what is happening:

I have a series of linked Excel 2002 spreadsheets that are updated by
users and emailed thru Outlook each month. The sheets are password
protected, keeping users from disturbing formulas and links. Data
entry areas are unprotected. Users are instructed not to open directly
from Outlook attachment, to first detach the file & then open using
Windows Explorer or Excel directly. They also do not change the
filename.

Each month, an average of 30-40% of the files return with broken
links. Many times the new link lists a "temp" directory. My thinking
is that when being opened from an attachment Outlook first saves to a
temp or other directory [on the users computer] and this procedure
then changes the links. When the message appears on file opening to
"Update Links?" they are instucted to answer "NO" and proceed to
update the file, save, and return via email.

Is there any way to stop this from happening? I'm in process of
creating the 2004 series, and if a programming or other solution can
be implemented it will save many hours each month.

Thanks for any insights...

Rick