Office online forum emailed links do not work. Only produce blank

[Beepa]

When I have posted questions in these forums and requested to be notified by
email when someone has responded the links always fail.

Here is an example: I saved the link as target to copy and paste here. This
was the link in my notification email ("Read and rate the response") I was to
follow to view the answer to my question --->

http://www.microsoft.com/wn3/aspx/t...nctions+to+access+2007:+to+select+in+"build"+
<<------------the above doesn't work when posted into the address bar------>>

This is the link if I copy the email message into a new message and view the
source code: ---->

http://www.microsoft.com/wn3/aspx/n...ries&mid=9ae78b2e-9407-44ba-bf86-541d03a1168b
<<---------------- This link works when copied to address
bar---------------->>


Now here is the actual link when I went to office online and searched out
the correct thread ---->

http://www.microsoft.com/office/com...b1e9&catlist=&dglist=&ptlist=&exp=&sloc=en-us

I have this problem with every notification sent to me by office online, the
second link to "click this link to continue receiving notifications for this
thread" has the same problem.

Just thought someone would like to know this since it is frustrating not to
be able to just click on the link supplied.

 

[Bob W]

I have had the same problem - it occurs both on my office PC (Office 2003,
Windows XP, IE, Outlook) and at home (Mac OSX, Office 2004 for Macintosh,
using IE, Safari and FireFox, etc.). When I click on an email notification
link, it *seems* to go to the web page for the response, but the window stays
blank.

 

[pat]

I just got a blank screen. This is though I clicked on the link the reply
email suggested.

 

[Bob I]

Only a guess(don't use that myself) but maybe a popup being blocked?

 

[Gordon]

I just got a blank screen. This is though I clicked on the link the reply
email suggested.

Ditch the web interface and use a real news reader. (Unless you are behind a
corporate firewall that blocks port 119...)

Setting up Outlook Express/Windows Mail to access Microsoft newsgroups
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/outlookexpressnewreader.htm

Accessing the MS newsgroups in Outlook Express/Windows Mail Newsreader
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroupsetup.mspx

 

[Bob W]

Mysteriously, the links just started working again for me. I'm guessing maybe
they got fixed by chance, during one of the frequent Office Updates that
occur automatically from time to time. Maybe some problemmatical file got
deleted or overwritten during a recent automatic office update. Our company
doesn't allow us to install software, so there have been no other changes to
my computer.

Ironically, the way I found this thread again, was by getting an alert that
Gordon had posted this idea, and trying the link in the alert. This time the
link worked....the first one in over 4 months that has ever worked for me.

Thanks to Gordon for the news reader idea. That sounds like another good
workaround. Instructions for setting it up in Outlook might also help, if
anyone has them; Gordon's links were only for Outlook Express.

 

[Gordon]

Thanks to Gordon for the news reader idea. That sounds like another good
workaround. Instructions for setting it up in Outlook might also help, if
anyone has them;

Outlook doesn't do news. (well not natively, and IMHE the third-party
add-ins aren't nearly as good as even OE!). If you add the News command to
the Go menu in Outlook, it will call either OE (on XP) or Windows Mail (in
Vista) in Outlook Newsreader mode...and believe me, once you've used a
newsreader then you won't want to go back to the awful web interface...

 

[Bob Arnett]

I've been having the same problem for a long time and accidently just
stumbled upon an answer. Although those links are to the right place, one
needs to be logged on to the site in order for them to work. If you go to the
Communities site first and log on then the link will open properly. I'm
wondering if using the "Save my email and password" option would eliminate
having to do this but I haven't tried that yet.

 

[Gordon]

I've been having the same problem for a long time and accidently just
stumbled upon an answer.

An even better answer is to just bin the web interface completely and use a
news reader.

Setting up Outlook Express/Windows Mail to access Microsoft newsgroups
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/outlookexpressnewreader.htm

Accessing the MS newsgroups in Outlook Express/Windows Mail Newsreader
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroupsetup.mspx