Vista offline files breaks Office 2007 file save - repeatable

  • Thread starter Thread starter BigWindow
  • Start date Start date
B

BigWindow

Hello~

Have this annoying REPEATABLE problem with Excel 2007 running on
Vista
Business saving to a share on Windows Server 2003 (not SBS). On the
client,
Vista and Excel all up-to-date with SPs, the machine is part of a
domain, and some files on different shares are set to be available
offline.


On the server, Windows 2003 also up-to-date, the client user has full
permissions in all the directories in question - both share
permissions and NTFS permissions), and the directory is set to make
only files users specify to be available offline.


Client has no problem opening and saving files in Excel that are NOT
marked as available offline. Also no problems with the new native
file
format.


So now here is the problem - as soon as a file available offline AND
in Excel 2003 format is opened by Excel, the properties of that file
indicate that the file is offline. i.e. the process of opening the
file moves its status to offline. Then any attempt to save the file
results in the dreaded "document not saved" error message. This
occurs
with a constant dedicated network connection. So, a work around has
been to save it local and then drag and drop it over to the network
when finished. Another work around (that works sometimes when Excel
lets it happen) is to open the properties of the file AFTER opened by
Excel, hit the [Sync] button to move the file back to online - and
then for the rest of the session it stays online and you can save it
at will.


So in summary, it seems that Excel 2007 has the nasty habit of moving
an XLS document from online to offline upon opening and then cannot
save it anymore. Anyone else have this issue or a fix? Using Office
2007 organization wide hinges on it.


Regards
 
In case this has still not been resolved, please let me know the following-
1. Is preview pane enabled in explorer ? (Organize->Layout->Preview Pane)
2. Will you be able to get us a processmon log of the save operation that
fails?

The going offline is expected (this is to prevent data loss. The file should
go back online by syncing it) However the failure to save is not expected.

Thanks,
Shubhankar
 
This issue is not yet resolved. We have canned VISTA/Office 2k7 as an
organization because of this issue but I still have a developement
machine for testing that setup.

No - the preview pane is not enabled - in fact I didn't even know it
was there. And I can give you a processmon log of the save operation
if given instructions on how to get it.

I'm suprised the "going offline is expected" by simply opening the
file. Other file types do not immediately go offline when opened -
like TXT and even XSLX files, DOC files do not have this same problem
in Word 2k7.

Also, 75% of the time, trying to sync after the file is opened (to
bring it back online and work-around the problem) you get a sync error
"the process cannot access the file because it is being used by
another process". But 25% of the time you actually can perform the
sync, bring it back online and then never have a problem saving the
file during that session again.

In case this has still not been resolved, please let me know the following-
1. Is preview pane enabled in explorer ? (Organize->Layout->Preview Pane)
2. Will you be able to get us a processmon log of the save operation that
fails?

The going offline is expected (this is to prevent data loss. The file should
go back online by syncing it) However the failure to save is not expected.

Thanks,
Shubhankar




Hello~
Click to expand...
Have this annoying REPEATABLE problem with Excel 2007 running on
Vista
Business saving to a share on Windows Server 2003 (not SBS). On the
client,
Vista and Excel all up-to-date with SPs, the machine is part of a
domain, and some files on different shares are set to be available
offline.
Click to expand...
On the server, Windows 2003 also up-to-date, the client user has full
permissions in all the directories in question - both share
permissions and NTFS permissions), and the directory is set to make
only files users specify to be available offline.
Click to expand...
Client has no problem opening and saving files in Excel that are NOT
marked as available offline. Also no problems with the new native
file
format.
Click to expand...
So now here is the problem - as soon as a file available offline AND
in Excel 2003 format is opened by Excel, the properties of that file
indicate that the file is offline. i.e. the process of opening the
file moves its status to offline. Then any attempt to save the file
results in the dreaded "document not saved" error message. This
occurs
with a constant dedicated network connection. So, a work around has
been to save it local and then drag and drop it over to the network
when finished. Another work around (that works sometimes when Excel
lets it happen) is to open the properties of the file AFTER opened by
Excel, hit the [Sync] button to move the file back to online - and
then for the rest of the session it stays online and you can save it
at will.
Click to expand...
So in summary, it seems that Excel 2007 has the nasty habit of moving
an XLS document from online to offline upon opening and then cannot
save it anymore. Anyone else have this issue or a fix? Using Office
2007 organization wide hinges on it.
Click to expand...
Regards- Hide quoted text -
Click to expand...

- Show quoted text -
Click to expand...
 
Hi,
Processmon can be downloaded from the following location-
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/ProcessesAndThreads/processmonitor.mspx

The screen should show you a trace of all I/O operations taking place in the
system. You should be able to filter by process name (in this case
excel.exe.) Make sure there are logs for the save operation and then save it
and then save the log. I realize these instructions are not very detailed.
However I found processmon pretty intuitive. If you do not find it so, let
me know and I'll send you more detailed intsructions.

The reason xls files go offline on being opened is due to the way that excel
opens files over the network. The going offline is to facilitate cache
coherency. I could let you know a reg key to not make the file go offline,
however in that case the file instead of going offline would no longer be
available offline. You would then need to wait for a background sync to get
file back in the offline files cache.

Thanks,
Shubhankar

BigWindow said:
This issue is not yet resolved. We have canned VISTA/Office 2k7 as an
organization because of this issue but I still have a developement
machine for testing that setup.

No - the preview pane is not enabled - in fact I didn't even know it
was there. And I can give you a processmon log of the save operation
if given instructions on how to get it.

I'm suprised the "going offline is expected" by simply opening the
file. Other file types do not immediately go offline when opened -
like TXT and even XSLX files, DOC files do not have this same problem
in Word 2k7.

Also, 75% of the time, trying to sync after the file is opened (to
bring it back online and work-around the problem) you get a sync error
"the process cannot access the file because it is being used by
another process". But 25% of the time you actually can perform the
sync, bring it back online and then never have a problem saving the
file during that session again.

In case this has still not been resolved, please let me know the
following-
1. Is preview pane enabled in explorer ? (Organize->Layout->Preview Pane)
2. Will you be able to get us a processmon log of the save operation that
fails?

The going offline is expected (this is to prevent data loss. The file
should
go back online by syncing it) However the failure to save is not
expected.

Thanks,
Shubhankar




Hello~
Click to expand...
Have this annoying REPEATABLE problem with Excel 2007 running on
Vista
Business saving to a share on Windows Server 2003 (not SBS). On the
client,
Vista and Excel all up-to-date with SPs, the machine is part of a
domain, and some files on different shares are set to be available
offline.
Click to expand...
On the server, Windows 2003 also up-to-date, the client user has full
permissions in all the directories in question - both share
permissions and NTFS permissions), and the directory is set to make
only files users specify to be available offline.
Click to expand...
Client has no problem opening and saving files in Excel that are NOT
marked as available offline. Also no problems with the new native
file
format.
Click to expand...
So now here is the problem - as soon as a file available offline AND
in Excel 2003 format is opened by Excel, the properties of that file
indicate that the file is offline. i.e. the process of opening the
file moves its status to offline. Then any attempt to save the file
results in the dreaded "document not saved" error message. This
occurs
with a constant dedicated network connection. So, a work around has
been to save it local and then drag and drop it over to the network
when finished. Another work around (that works sometimes when Excel
lets it happen) is to open the properties of the file AFTER opened by
Excel, hit the [Sync] button to move the file back to online - and
then for the rest of the session it stays online and you can save it
at will.
Click to expand...
So in summary, it seems that Excel 2007 has the nasty habit of moving
an XLS document from online to offline upon opening and then cannot
save it anymore. Anyone else have this issue or a fix? Using Office
2007 organization wide hinges on it.
Click to expand...
Regards- Hide quoted text -
Click to expand...

- Show quoted text -
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
I sent the processmon log files to you directly via email.

I understand what you are saying about the file going offline when
opened, but it doesn't make too much sense to me that this is the case
ONLY for XLS files and NOT for the new native format for Excel and
also it is not a problem for Excel 2003. And the root question then,
if Excel 2007 is going to force this one particular file type offline
when opening, why can't it save it anymore?

Looking forward to the answers for this one.


Hi,
Processmon can be downloaded from the following location-http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/ProcessesAndThreads/pro...

The screen should show you a trace of all I/O operations taking place in the
system. You should be able to filter by process name (in this case
excel.exe.) Make sure there are logs for the save operation and then save it
and then save the log. I realize these instructions are not very detailed.
However I found processmon pretty intuitive. If you do not find it so, let
me know and I'll send you more detailed intsructions.

The reason xls files go offline on being opened is due to the way that excel
opens files over the network. The going offline is to facilitate cache
coherency. I could let you know a reg key to not make the file go offline,
however in that case the file instead of going offline would no longer be
available offline. You would then need to wait for a background sync to get
file back in the offline files cache.

Thanks,
Shubhankar




This issue is not yet resolved. We have canned VISTA/Office 2k7 as an
organization because of this issue but I still have a developement
machine for testing that setup.
Click to expand...
No - the preview pane is not enabled - in fact I didn't even know it
was there. And I can give you a processmon log of the save operation
if given instructions on how to get it.
Click to expand...
I'm suprised the "going offline is expected" by simply opening the
file. Other file types do not immediately go offline when opened -
like TXT and even XSLX files, DOC files do not have this same problem
in Word 2k7.
Click to expand...
Also, 75% of the time, trying to sync after the file is opened (to
bring it back online and work-around the problem) you get a sync error
"the process cannot access the file because it is being used by
another process". But 25% of the time you actually can perform the
sync, bring it back online and then never have a problem saving the
file during that session again.
In case this has still not been resolved, please let me know the
following-
1. Is preview pane enabled in explorer ? (Organize->Layout->Preview Pane)
2. Will you be able to get us a processmon log of the save operation that
fails?
The going offline is expected (this is to prevent data loss. The file
should
go back online by syncing it) However the failure to save is not
expected.
Thanks,
Shubhankar

Hello~
Have this annoying REPEATABLE problem with Excel 2007 running on
Vista
Business saving to a share on Windows Server 2003 (not SBS). On the
client,
Vista and Excel all up-to-date with SPs, the machine is part of a
domain, and some files on different shares are set to be available
offline.
On the server, Windows 2003 also up-to-date, the client user has full
permissions in all the directories in question - both share
permissions and NTFS permissions), and the directory is set to make
only files users specify to be available offline.
Client has no problem opening and saving files in Excel that are NOT
marked as available offline. Also no problems with the new native
file
format.
So now here is the problem - as soon as a file available offline AND
in Excel 2003 format is opened by Excel, the properties of that file
indicate that the file is offline. i.e. the process of opening the
file moves its status to offline. Then any attempt to save the file
results in the dreaded "document not saved" error message. This
occurs
with a constant dedicated network connection. So, a work around has
been to save it local and then drag and drop it over to the network
when finished. Another work around (that works sometimes when Excel
lets it happen) is to open the properties of the file AFTER opened by
Excel, hit the [Sync] button to move the file back to online - and
then for the rest of the session it stays online and you can save it
at will.
So in summary, it seems that Excel 2007 has the nasty habit of moving
an XLS document from online to offline upon opening and then cannot
save it anymore. Anyone else have this issue or a fix? Using Office
2007 organization wide hinges on it.
Regards- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

- Show quoted text -
Click to expand...
 
I am having the exact same problem.
I setup a Desktop PC with Vista Business Edition and that seems to be
working fine with Office 2007.
But, I setup a laptop with Vista Ultimate edition, and I have the
exact same problem.
Infact, the majority of my redirected Documents folder produce a sync
error of "The process cannot access the file because it is being used
by another process." on the laptop.

I'll be happy to send any reports you need.
 
I am having the exact same problem.
I setup a Desktop PC withVistaBusiness Edition and that seems to be
working fine with Office2007.
But, I setup a laptop withVistaUltimate edition, and I have the
exact same problem.
Infact, the majority of my redirected Documents folder produce a sync
error of "The process cannot access the file because it is being used
by another process." on the laptop.

I'll be happy to send any reports you need.
Click to expand...

I am also having the same problem first reported. Users in our office
receive the message "Document not saved" and then the networked file
they are working on is literally deleted and in it's place an alpha-
numeric .tmp file with 0 bytes appears. In other words if you don't
"save as" to your local machine the file is completely lost. This
occurs on Vista Business Edition, Office 2007 Small Business (Excel
2007), SBS 2003.

I very much hope someone out there can help us!

Thanks!
 
Sorry, I should have also mentioned that unlike BigWindow this problem
occurs with both xls files and xlsx files. Also, offline files are
completely turned off on the machines with the problem because they
themselves caused us tons of headaches with picture corruption.
 
Hi Tavi,
If you're seeing sync errors for all your files, it's possible that oplocks
are not enabled on the server.
Can you confirm whether oplocks are enabled/disabled on server? The
following KB will tell you which reg keys to look for on the server:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/296264/en-us

Thanks,
Shubhankar
 
Hi Shubhankar,

Thank you for getting back to me. Oplocks were not enabled (in fact
the reg dword was not even in the registry), but we did enable them
and we are still having the same issue.

Any other guesses? This is becoming quite a problem for us.
Additionally, the same type of issue occurs when saving an attachment
out of Outlook 2007 (on a Vista Business Edition system, SBS 2003) and
overwriting a network file.

Thanks once again!

Regards,
Trevor
 
Hello,
Almost the same problem here as BigWindow - Vista x86 Business and problems
with sync .xls files(conflicts, errors, sync fails etc.) that are in W2k3 std
srv file server in a domain(W2k AD). No problems with other types of files.
All patches applied on Vista, W2k3 srv and W2k DC.
Any solution?
 
St. Stanev,

My only suggestion is to Disable "Offline Files". In other words go to
your Control Panel - Offline Files - Disable Offline Files. That
solved a bunch of problems we were having, some similar to what you
mentioned with Excel files--conflicts, sync failures. It also stop
another problem we had with was image file corruption. However, it has
not solved the "Document Not Saved" problem we continue to have in
Excel.
 
But the purpose of this thread is to find a solution to the problem of
"document not saved" when using Excel 2007 and Windows 2003. To the
others that have this same problem - does your server have a REV drive
on it by any chance?

BigWindow
 
OK, thanks - there was some possiblity that the REV drivers might
affect files on non REV drives, but it appears now that is not the
culprit.
 
Well we solved the problem by turning off the Windows Desktop Search
Add-In (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?
FamilyID=f7e981d9-5a3b-4872-a07e-220761e27283&displaylang=en)

I had previously installed this add-in and set it to index Networked
files, but once I turned it off (by that I mean stopped Indexing
Network Files and then I re-built the Index) the problem totally
vanished.
 
Not the case - here - we are not using the add-in for desktop search
to index network volumes. Still have the same problem and had to trash
Vista and Office 2007 because of it. Neither of these product are
ready for today's environment in my opinion. Backward compatibility
MUST be seamless and you MUST be able to support the mobile worker
with offline files. These two products come up WAY short.
 
Hi BigWindow,

we have the exact same problem. Did you got a solution for this
problem?

Thanks.

Bart.
 
The answer has been found! See this post:

Subject: Offline Files - tmp files - GUID - Access is denied - Sync
Posted on November 16, 2007...

There finally is an answer. After looking EVERYWHERE, I found the Microsoft
solution... Check the third reply I made. It has a link to the MS KB
article for the fix.

I have applied the PRE-SP1 patch and it worked on my computer! FINALLY!!!
I HAVE to have the offline files working or it creates major problems for my
work!
 
This might be the answer... it's related to offline file update problems.
See this post:

Subject: Offline Files - tmp files - GUID - Access is denied - Sync
Posted on November 16, 2007...

There finally is an answer. After looking EVERYWHERE, I found the Microsoft
solution... Check the third reply I made. It has a link to the MS KB
article for the fix.

I have applied the PRE-SP1 patch and it worked on my computer! FINALLY!!!
I HAVE to have the offline files working or it creates major problems for my
work!
 
Back
Top