Publisher cannot open file

[Ken Dunkley]

Hi, I'm getting the dreaded "Cannot Open file" message. I'm using Publisher
2003 and it only occurs with one specific file.

So far, I've tried, without any success....

1) opening the file on two other PC's
2) turning off virus scan
3) running "detect & repair"
4) everything in KB198256, including Safe Mode and disabling the pictures
5) recovering the text in Word - only produced gibberish
6) adding a registry key as described in another KB article - which killed IE
7) cleaning the registry

any other suggestions?

 

[Ed Bennett]

5) recovering the text in Word - only produced gibberish

Somewhere in amongst all the gibberish is the text of your publication.
If there's not much, it may be easier to retype from memory than to look
for it.

any other suggestions?

Try looking through your temp files for pub*.tmp. Copy to your desktop,
rename to a .pub extension, and try opening them. You might get an old
version of your file.

 

[Ken Dunkley]

Thanks Ed,

1) the publication is mostly pictures, so the text is the easy bit

2) tried looking for the *.tmp file, but my efforts at 'cleaning up' and
error checking the hard drive have erased all temp files

any other ideas?

 

[Mary Sauer]

No doubt you have a corrupt image. Bite the bullet and start all over again.
Where did you get the pictures?

 

[Ken Dunkley]

I'm working on a club magazine, and photos come froma variety of club members.

If I have a 'corrupt image', and try to re-create exactly the same layout,
surely the same problem will re-occur.

What makes an image 'corrupt'? How can I check images before I insert them
to see if they are 'corrupt'?

 

[Ed Bennett]

If I have a 'corrupt image', and try to re-create exactly the same layout,
surely the same problem will re-occur.

Not necessarily

What makes an image 'corrupt'? How can I check images before I insert them
to see if they are 'corrupt'?

Damage to the internal structure of a publication is the most likely
cause. Images that are outright corrupt will normally just fail to
import at all.

Ways to avoid corruption are:
a) Avoid saving to or loading from network drives and removable media.
Copy to your local hard drive, work, save, then copy back again.
b) Take very regular and frequent backup copies of your publication
c) Avoid recycling last week's newsletter publication file to create
this week's. Create a blank newsletter from scratch, then save it as a
Publisher Template, which can be used as the basis for each new publication.
d) Replace Norton AntiVirus with a half-competent solution. I haven't
heard of any direct link between teh two, but I wouldn't be surprised if
there were one. And besides, it's not easy to et funding to research the
connection between Publisher file corruption and the presence of Norton
AntiVirus.

If you do find an image that won't import (or that consistently corrupts
your publication), then I suggest running it through IrfanView
(www.irfanview.com) to either recompress it in its current format, or
convert it to a new one.

 

[Dondi Scumaci]

Please help! I cannot open one specific file in publisher 2003. I've modified the registry according to Microsoft instructions, run a registry scan, and repaired publisher. The file has embedded powerpoint slides (miniature references) that update when I open the file. I appreciate any assistance with this problem. Dondi Scumaci

EggHeadCafe - .NET Developer Portal of Choice
http://www.eggheadcafe.com

 

[Mary Sauer]

Did you read any of the messages in this thread?

How to troubleshoot a damaged publication in Publisher
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/198256/en-us

--
Mary Sauer MSFT MVP
http://office.microsoft.com/


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