Multiple volumes mounted with same name

[subtlecoolness]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel

I have a problem opening and saving documents when multiple volumes with the same name are mounted.

My user account name is "waj288", and my account has FileVault enabled, so my home folder is a mounted volume with the name "waj288".

I am also working with a network share mounted over WebDAV with Mac OS X's built-in "Connect to Server..." command. The share is named "waj288".

When I try to save an Excel file on the network share, the file instead saves in the root of my home folder (the FileVault volume).

If I have a file in my home folder and on the network share, with the same name, when I double-click the file on the network share, the file in my home folder opens instead.

This appears to be a bug in the way Excel handles paths to mounted volumes. This also happens in PowerPoint, but not in Word.

 

[subtlecoolness]

Hmmm. This sounds related:

<http://www.officeformac.com/ProductForums/Excel/3276>

 

[Bob Greenblatt]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel

I have a problem opening and saving documents when multiple volumes with the
same name are mounted.

My user account name is "waj288", and my account has FileVault enabled, so my
home folder is a mounted volume with the name "waj288".

I am also working with a network share mounted over WebDAV with Mac OS X's
built-in "Connect to Server..." command. The share is named "waj288".

When I try to save an Excel file on the network share, the file instead saves
in the root of my home folder (the FileVault volume).

If I have a file in my home folder and on the network share, with the same
name, when I double-click the file on the network share, the file in my home
folder opens instead.

This appears to be a bug in the way Excel handles paths to mounted volumes.
This also happens in PowerPoint, but not in Word.

There may or may not be a bug, but it just seems that you are asking for
trouble using the same names and intentionally creating an ambiguous
situation.

 

[subtlecoolness]

... it just seems that you are asking for

trouble using the same names and intentionally
creating an ambiguous situation.

I agree with you in the case of, for example, two locally mounted external disks with the same name. That would be rather ambiguous to me.

But, I can't change the names of the shares because this is how my organization does its business. I am using a domain account, so I don't have the option to change the short name on my Mac, and the network share is named using the same domain account.

However, I don't see any ambiguity between these two paths:

/Users/waj288 (the mounted FileVault home folder)
/Volumes/waj288 (the mounted network share)

Could it also be possible that Excel is asking for trouble by creating ambiguity where there should be none? If it used POSIX paths for referencing files, it would be able to tell the difference between two different folders.

There must be a way to fix it, for whatever that fix is, it has already been implemented in Word.

 

[Bob Greenblatt]

I agree with you in the case of, for example, two locally mounted external
disks with the same name. That would be rather ambiguous to me.

But, I can't change the names of the shares because this is how my
organization does its business. I am using a domain account, so I don't have
the option to change the short name on my Mac, and the network share is named
using the same domain account.

However, I don't see any ambiguity between these two paths:

/Users/waj288 (the mounted FileVault home folder)
/Volumes/waj288 (the mounted network share)

Could it also be possible that Excel is asking for trouble by creating
ambiguity where there should be none? If it used POSIX paths for referencing
files, it would be able to tell the difference between two different folders.

There must be a way to fix it, for whatever that fix is, it has already been
implemented in Word.

Yes, I agree, that it maybe Excel is creating the problem, but I do not
know, or have any insights as to a fix or work around.