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General discussion

Outlook "Operation has been cancelled" hyperlink problem

by zenkovic May 8, 2007 4:35AM PDT

I am getting the Outlook 2003 "This operation has been cancelled due to restrictions in effect on this computer" hyperlink problem that has been raised a few times, but nothing seems to work.

I am running an XP SP2 personal laptop not connected to any network and using a user account that has full Admin rights. I have Outlook 2003 mixed in with Word/Excel/OneNote 2007. Firefox 2.0 is my default browser, and I also have IE 7 installed.

I have tried the following:

1. In IE 7, I tried Tools->Internet Options->Advanced->Reset Internet Explorer settings. This didn't accomplish anything.

2. I went to Set Program Access and Defaults screen (Custom) to make sure that IE was allowed even though Firefox is the default browser. It already was, so this wasn't the problem.

3. I am not running Spybot Search & Destroy, which numerous people have noted may cause problems. I do have Spycatcher installed (though I don't have it run in the background), but I haven't heard anything about problems with this.

4. I imported a registry key to adjust the HKEY_Local_Machine\Software\Classes\htmlfile\shell\open\command setting, although I later realized this was a specifically IE6 solution. Regardless, this didn't help matters any.

5. There have been mentions of tweaking other settings in the registry, either at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Restrictions\NoBrowserOptions or at the same path under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. Neither setting with that full path exists in my registry, set to either 0 or 1. Is this a problem?

Any advice would be welcome. So far I've just lived with it, but it's getting annoying.

Discussion is locked

1 - 30 of 45 Posts
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"In IE 7" = ouch.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator May 8, 2007 5:24AM PDT

Sorry but I'm throwing in the towel on IE 7. Too many problems and we'll have to wait till MS addresses the issues it's causing.

Bob

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When did this problem start?
by Kees Bakker May 8, 2007 8:02AM PDT

I'd say you upgraded from IE6 to IE7 and installed Office 2007 while keeping Outlook 2003. That's 2 steps.

Back when you had IE6 (and no IE7) and the full Office 2003 (and not Office 2007) did things work correctly then?

It might be that you'll have to undo one of those steps, or undo both, than redo one. It could be a IE7 problem, it could be a problem caused by the mix of the 2 Offices, and it could be a problem caused by the mix of the 2 Office AND using IE7.
And that Firefox is your default browser possibly is involved in the mix also. It's not the first thing Microsoft will test, this particular combo you've got on your system.

There's no better way to find out than experiment. Manual changes in the registry you did won't exactly help with going back to the exact situation. Can you do a system restore to when it still worked?

Kees

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Re: When did this problem start?
by zenkovic May 8, 2007 8:37AM PDT

I'm afraid I can't establish a relative timeline between these things. The problem has been around for a while. I didn't get to it right away because it was a relatively cosmetic deal and I had other more serious things to worry about. The IE6->7 upgrade and Office 2007 Basic installation may indeed have occurred around this time but I can't recall the relative ordering of events.

I did leave out one important item, though. At some point I deleted the .HTM and .HTML extensions from my "registered file types" list. Why on earth would you do that, you wonder. Well, I was annoyed with some file association behavior regarding HTML files, couldn't figure out how to fix them, and took the drastic step of deleting the existing associations from the list, hoping to start anew. This temporarily screwed things up, and for a while I couldn't even double-click on an HTML file and get it to launch in either Firefox or IE.

Now, HTML files are indicated as Type "Firefox Document" in Windows Explorer but they don't have the proper graphic icon -- it's just Windows' "I don't know" default icon. But at least they do launch in Firefox when I double-click them.

Does this provide any further insight on the matter?

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Re: htm-associations
by Kees Bakker May 8, 2007 4:57PM PDT

It might be time to start all over with a fresh install of Windows XP. It's time-consuming but it certainly helps if - for some reason, and this might be related indeed, although even that is not sure - you screwed up things beyond repair. Such things just do happen sometimes.

Kees

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See link.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator May 8, 2007 9:31PM PDT
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Re: association fixer
by zenkovic May 9, 2007 1:29PM PDT

Er, thanks. But, what exactly does this do?

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(NT) It should fix your problem when merged with the registry.
by Kees Bakker May 9, 2007 4:57PM PDT
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well, i'll be...
by zenkovic May 9, 2007 8:12PM PDT

Sorry, I knew what the script was generally as I've run similar registry fixers before. I was just wondering what specifically it would do. I guess I was wondering how file associations work in Windows in general, but I suppose that's for another time and place.

Not only did this thingamajig fix my association problem, it also fixed the Outlook/hyperlink problem! Huzzah! So the Outlook problem must indeed have been originally caused by my fooling about with the registered file types list.

THANKS!!!

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Thanks for the report.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator May 10, 2007 9:52AM PDT

Nice to read about confirmed kills.

Bob

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Registry fixer
by dnarip Feb 11, 2008 4:02AM PST

Bingo, I was just having the same problem with the error after clicking hyperlinks in Outlook emails. This registry fixer was the solution! Thanks.

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Fix
by p30513 Mar 11, 2008 5:44PM PDT

I also had the exact same problem. After installing the registry fix, the problem was solved. If it doesn't work at first make sure you exit out of Outlook and then restart it.

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Great Fix
by martid83 Oct 14, 2008 12:49AM PDT

Took a while to find this forum, but it was worth it. I removed a user installed Safari browser and it killed the Outlook hyperlinks. Great patch. Thanks.

Dave

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Sorted
by vaughan Mar 15, 2011 6:51AM PDT

Fixed my problem opening hyperlinks from Notes in Outlook 2007 using Windows 7. Don?t know how I triggered the problem in the first place but great to have sorted it out. Thanks

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...worked for Vista too!
by auzzib Mar 17, 2008 5:23AM PDT

I've recently had the same problem described here. I am running Vista Ultimate, Outlook 2007, and Firefox 2. I downloaded the registry fix and now everything works great! thanks!

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Thanks for the report.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Mar 17, 2008 7:46AM PDT

Nice to know people are getting it done.

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IT WORKED!
by robhorgan Sep 15, 2008 11:22AM PDT

Bless you. I took my computer into the shop for another issue and when I got it back it would not open hyperlinks in emails. When I described the problem over the phone, those jerk offs acted like they were not familiar with the error and suggested "I bring it in". Rip offs. I had tried everything until I uncovered this thread. WELL DONE.

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thanks!!
by cowboybob32 Nov 10, 2008 7:11AM PST

this worked for me also. I use CCleaner and RegVac. I'm thinking it must have been CCleaner, but not sure. I couldn't access the hyperlinks in Outlook, got the same error message as others.

I had checked all my settings, over and over.

Thanks again.

Vista Ultimate x64 & Office 2007

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Worked for me on Win7. Looked like Apple Quicktime clobbered
by cryptobear May 19, 2010 4:30AM PDT

the registry when it was installed.

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Patch for Outlook error on file associations.
by Selltime Jun 29, 2010 9:59PM PDT

I installed this patch on a Vista 64 bit operating system running Outlook 2007 that was giving the same message. This patch fixed the problem.
Thank you.

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YAHOO!!
by Reiki-Man Oct 22, 2008 7:38PM PDT

Thankyou SO much for this: had this problem for weeks and couldn't find a way to fixit - nowI have.BRILLIANT!!!

GO here: http://www.dougknox.com/xp/file_assoc.htm

and use the HTM/HTML association .zip.

FAB!!!

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Wow!! It really works. Easiest fix ever.
by jwalker999 Aug 4, 2009 5:16AM PDT

It worked for me. For the idiots out there like me, I had to restart my computer to make it work. As soon as I did, everything worked like a charm. I'm running Vista with SP1 and Outlook 2003. I love it when a community comes together to solve problems.

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error: locate browser link
by atomikittenn Jul 18, 2008 12:50AM PDT

i used this fix for ie6 but now when i click on a hyperlink in outlook, instead of the error message "operation has been cancelled....", i get a dialog box (browsing window) that says "locate browser link"...

what's the next solution?

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Set IE as the default browser...
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Jul 18, 2008 12:54AM PDT

Also given the advances(?) in protection software I can't guess if it stepped in and squashed the attempt to launch...

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ie IS already the default browser...
by atomikittenn Jul 18, 2008 1:00AM PDT

what next? Happy

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Re: locate link browser
by Kees Bakker Jul 18, 2008 2:59AM PDT
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Remember my comment about protection software?
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Jul 18, 2008 3:57AM PDT

You didn't share what you have installed. No wild shooting today.

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oh, missed that...
by atomikittenn Jul 18, 2008 3:10PM PDT

i have symantec security on my pc. not sure what other information i should put in...

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Anything that interacts with the
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Jul 18, 2008 10:08PM PDT

You get the idea. I can't guess if today's Symantec's products stop these fixes. That's up to you to think over. Here I just uninstall such to be sure. I have no quibbles about this since I can reinstall later AFTER I fix the original issue.
Bob

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i found the solution
by atomikittenn Aug 12, 2008 10:43PM PDT
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Fixed Outlook After Uninstalling Chrome Beta
by jf518 Dec 10, 2008 10:33AM PST

I also lost link functionality in Outlook after having uninstalled Google Chrome Beta (I also have Firefoc and IE). The registry patch to repair the HTM/HTML file associations was the answer. Thanks Bob

Love the CNET forums.

Jay

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