Office 2007 Help is screwy

[Starcrwzr]

I recently built a new computer and installed XP Pro SP2 and Office
2007. When I open the "Help" in any of the office applications, the
main window of the help app shows the following...

<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<?xml-stylesheet type='text/xsl' href='File://C:\Documents and
Settings\Scott & Martha\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files
\MsOfficeHelp12\MOH2.tmp\search.xsl'?>
- <search namespace="WINWORD">
<title>Microsoft Office Word</title>
<query>pause</query>
- <results start="0" total="1" max="100" maxperpage="25">
- <result>
<url href="ms-help://MS.WINWORD.12.1033/WINWORD/content/
HP10151362.htm">Translate text</url>
- <breadcrumbs>
<url href="File://C:\Documents and Settings\Scott & Martha\Local
Settings\Temporary Internet Files\MsOfficeHelp12\MOH2.tmp
\BROWSE1.WINWORD.xml">Word</url>
<url href="File://C:\Documents and Settings\Scott & Martha\Local
Settings\Temporary Internet Files\MsOfficeHelp12\MOH2.tmp
\BROWSE468.WINWORD.xml">Working in a different language</url>
</breadcrumbs>
</result>
</results>
</search>

Any idea what is wrong? I've run the Office diagnostics and all is
OK. I also downloaded and installed the Office SP1, but that didn't
fix it either.

 

[Herb Tyson [MVP]]

I've read elsewhere that this can happen if your user name contains an &
(ampersand), which your appears to. The only solution appears to be to
create a new user profile that does NOT contain that character. I would
suggest using "Scott and Martha" instead of "Scott & Martha".

Reinstalling won't help because the & is bound up in the folder structure.
Apparently, Office 2007's XML-based help files don't play nicely with the &
character.

 

[Herb Tyson [MVP]]

I've read reports of people trying and then ending up with a profile that
didn't work at all. Moreover, if you slip and change an innocent bystander
&, you could end up with a system that won't start at all.

Before trying anything like that, I would create a new user profile that
does not use the & character, and verify that Office 2007 help works
correctly there. You might find that it's faster to just go ahead and move
files/folders to the new profile than it is to try desperate methods.

I'm not aware that anyone has ever fixed the problem by editing the registry
(you'd need to rename the folder, too, but I've never heard of that fixing
the problem, either). It's too bad that Windows doesn't warn you about the &
character and refuse to use it for a user profile... it would save a lot of
aggravation.

 

[Starcrwzr]

I've read reports of people trying and then ending up with a profile that
didn't work at all. Moreover, if you slip and change an innocent bystander
&, you could end up with a system that won't start at all.

Before trying anything like that, I would create a new user profile that
does not use the & character, and verify that Office 2007 help works
correctly there. You might find that it's faster to just go ahead and move
files/folders to the new profile than it is to try desperate methods.

I'm not aware that anyone has ever fixed the problem by editing the registry
(you'd need to rename the folder, too, but I've never heard of that fixing
the problem, either). It's too bad that Windows doesn't warn you about the &
character and refuse to use it for a user profile... it would save a lot of
aggravation.

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

I took your advice and created a new user, then moved all my files,
etc. under the new folders, then deleted the old user name with the
ampersand. This solved the problem with Office Help. Thanks!

 

[Herb Tyson [MVP]]

It's a bit of a pain, but a fresh start sometimes is the best approach. Glad
it's working correctly now. Who'da thunk that including an & in the user
name would have that kind of effect?