Can't use "[" or "]" characters in file names?

WTF????

I've got several folders and files with names that use square brackets. I've
NEVER had a problem with them. Windows lets me create and rename them....
WHY THE F**K does Office 2007 complain that these aren't valid?

How can I fix this? Office is the one reason that I still use Windows. Now
I can't even save my documents without having to move them around.

Not sure...I just tried it and it worked fine. I have Office 2007 and Vista.

Tim

"Noozer" wrote in message
...
WTF????

I've got several folders and files with names that use square brackets.
I've NEVER had a problem with them. Windows lets me create and rename
them.... WHY THE F**K does Office 2007 complain that these aren't valid?

How can I fix this? Office is the one reason that I still use Windows.
Now I can't even save my documents without having to move them around.

Apoligies for the attitude earlier... Just frustrated with Microsoft more
and more these days.

I was trying to save an Excel spreadsheet. The error message specifically
noted that [ and ] were not permitted.

quote

The file could not be accessed. Try one of the following:
- Make sure the specified folder exists.
- Make sure the folder that contains the file is not read-only.
- Make sure the file name does not contain any of the following characters:
? [ ] : | or *
- Make sure the file/path name doesn't contain more than 218 characters.

/quote

"Tim" tim_at_overthere.com wrote in message
...
Not sure...I just tried it and it worked fine. I have Office 2007 and
Vista.

Tim

"Noozer" wrote in message
...
WTF????

I've got several folders and files with names that use square brackets.
I've NEVER had a problem with them. Windows lets me create and rename
them.... WHY THE F**K does Office 2007 complain that these aren't valid?

How can I fix this? Office is the one reason that I still use Windows.
Now I can't even save my documents without having to move them around.

quote

The file could not be accessed. Try one of the following:
- Make sure the specified folder exists.
- Make sure the folder that contains the file is not read-only.
- Make sure the file name does not contain any of the following
characters: ? [ ] : | or *
- Make sure the file/path name doesn't contain more than 218 characters.

/quote

....and to make matters worse, this restriction is not even mentioned in the
Excel Help:

http://office.microsoft.com/client/h...EL&l cid=1033

Excel has had this restriction at least since Office 2000, and probably
back to the beginning. The reason is that Excel uses the square brackets
to delimit the file name when referring to cells in a different workbook,
like this: [Work_Book.xls]Sheet1!$H$11. Note the use of the exclamation
point as well, to separate the sheet name from the cell reference.


Noozer wrote:
Apoligies for the attitude earlier... Just frustrated with Microsoft more
and more these days.

I was trying to save an Excel spreadsheet. The error message specifically
noted that [ and ] were not permitted.

quote

The file could not be accessed. Try one of the following:
- Make sure the specified folder exists.
- Make sure the folder that contains the file is not read-only.
- Make sure the file name does not contain any of the following characters:
? [ ] : | or *
- Make sure the file/path name doesn't contain more than 218 characters.

/quote

"Tim" tim_at_overthere.com wrote in message
...
Not sure...I just tried it and it worked fine. I have Office 2007 and
Vista.

Tim

"Noozer" wrote in message
...
WTF????

I've got several folders and files with names that use square brackets.
I've NEVER had a problem with them. Windows lets me create and rename
them.... WHY THE F**K does Office 2007 complain that these aren't valid?

How can I fix this? Office is the one reason that I still use Windows.
Now I can't even save my documents without having to move them around.








--
Gary L. Smith
Columbus, Ohio

This article explains why brackets are not permitted:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/ex...548121033.aspx

The same restriction existed in Excel 2003, as well. From the above link:

"Avoid characters from the Excel linking syntax in file names and worksheet
names. You can't create links to workbooks and worksheets with names that
include the characters [ ] and !."

and:

"When you create a link, Excel creates a formula that includes the name of
the source workbook in brackets [ ], followed by the worksheet name, an
exclamation point, and the cell reference."

I don't know how far back this goes (I had my daughter check her machine,
which still has Excel 2003 on it, and she gets the same message you get when
using [ ] in file names). However, the restriction does not exist in Word,
PowerPoint, etc., as far as I can tell. Just an Excel thing because of the
way it builds links.

--
Herb Tyson MS MVP
Author of the Word 2007 Bible
Blog: http://word2007bible.herbtyson.com
Web: http://www.herbtyson.com


"Noozer" wrote in message
...
Apoligies for the attitude earlier... Just frustrated with Microsoft more
and more these days.

I was trying to save an Excel spreadsheet. The error message specifically
noted that [ and ] were not permitted.

quote

The file could not be accessed. Try one of the following:
- Make sure the specified folder exists.
- Make sure the folder that contains the file is not read-only.
- Make sure the file name does not contain any of the following
characters: ? [ ] : | or *
- Make sure the file/path name doesn't contain more than 218 characters.

/quote

"Tim" tim_at_overthere.com wrote in message
...
Not sure...I just tried it and it worked fine. I have Office 2007 and
Vista.

Tim

"Noozer" wrote in message
...
WTF????

I've got several folders and files with names that use square brackets.
I've NEVER had a problem with them. Windows lets me create and rename
them.... WHY THE F**K does Office 2007 complain that these aren't valid?

How can I fix this? Office is the one reason that I still use Windows.
Now I can't even save my documents without having to move them around.

"Herb Tyson [MVP]" wrote...
This article explains why brackets are not permitted:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/ex...548121033.aspx

The same restriction existed in Excel 2003, as well. From the above link:

"Avoid characters from the Excel linking syntax in file names and worksheet
names. You can't create links to workbooks and worksheets with names that
include the characters [ ] and !."
....

You can't save Excel files with NEW filenames containing these characters,
but you can rename Excel files in Windows to include these characters, and
Excel will open then and save them. For example, rename an Excel file
'[!]'!.xls, and Excel will open it and show its filename in the application
window title bar as '[!]'!.xls, but if you create a formula link in another
workbook to cells in this workbook, Excel mungs the filename, e.g., this
particular file becomes

='[''(!)!''!.xls]Sheet1'!$A$1

Thanks for pulling out the latest version of this particular bit of
misinformation (which has been discussed a few times in the Excel
newsgroups). As per usual with Excel, Microsoft chooses to say things can't
be done that CAN be done but would require some care and precision when
explaining how to do so.


I don't know how far back this goes (I had my daughter check her machine,
which still has Excel 2003 on it, and she gets the same message you get
when using [ ] in file names). However, the restriction does not exist in
Word, PowerPoint, etc., as far as I can tell. Just an Excel thing because
of the way it builds links.

It goes all the way back to Excel 4, which introduced this unfortunate
syntax.

I didn't say it can't be done at all. All I did was pass along Microsoft's
rationale behind your not being able to Save As files directly from Excel.
If Word and other applications can do it, it stands to reason that Excel
files can be renamed. Heck, you can even rename them from within Excel -- no
need to go to Windows Explorer: in any File dialog, click the file, press
F2, type a new name, then press Enter. Open the file, modify it, save it. It
all works fine. But, when users do that, they have nobody to blame but
themselves if/when links don't work.

You refer to is as unfortunate syntax. How might you have done it, had you
been designing Excel?

--
Herb Tyson MS MVP
Author of the Word 2007 Bible
Blog: http://word2007bible.herbtyson.com
Web: http://www.herbtyson.com


"Harlan Grove" wrote in message
...
"Herb Tyson [MVP]" wrote...
This article explains why brackets are not permitted:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/ex...548121033.aspx

The same restriction existed in Excel 2003, as well. From the above link:

"Avoid characters from the Excel linking syntax in file names and
worksheet names. You can't create links to workbooks and worksheets with
names that include the characters [ ] and !."
...

You can't save Excel files with NEW filenames containing these characters,
but you can rename Excel files in Windows to include these characters, and
Excel will open then and save them. For example, rename an Excel file
'[!]'!.xls, and Excel will open it and show its filename in the
application window title bar as '[!]'!.xls, but if you create a formula
link in another workbook to cells in this workbook, Excel mungs the
filename, e.g., this particular file becomes

='[''(!)!''!.xls]Sheet1'!$A$1

Thanks for pulling out the latest version of this particular bit of
misinformation (which has been discussed a few times in the Excel
newsgroups). As per usual with Excel, Microsoft chooses to say things
can't be done that CAN be done but would require some care and precision
when explaining how to do so.


I don't know how far back this goes (I had my daughter check her machine,
which still has Excel 2003 on it, and she gets the same message you get
when using [ ] in file names). However, the restriction does not exist in
Word, PowerPoint, etc., as far as I can tell. Just an Excel thing because
of the way it builds links.

It goes all the way back to Excel 4, which introduced this unfortunate
syntax.

"Herb Tyson [MVP]" wrote...
....
You refer to is as unfortunate syntax. How might you have done
it, had you been designing Excel?
....

The same way Lotus did this for 123, with doubled angle brackets,
and , which can NEVER be filename characters because they're used as
I/O redirection operators on the command line. Every MSFT OS since DOS
2.0 has rejected them as filename characters.

Though even better would be the way OpenOffice Calc does it, using a
function that takes string-valued arguments, which would have made it
MUCH EASIER to produce variable filename references. FTHOI, the
OpenOffice Calc function call looks like

=DDE("soffice";"Untitled1";"Sheet1.A1")

It took Microsoft 3 years from the debut of 123 Release 3 to slap
together the quasi-3D functionality in Excel 4. It wasn't their best
design work.