August 13, 1999

The Microsoft Office 2000 Setup program works with the new Windows® Installer to keep track of files on the user's computer. If a file is accidentally deleted, the Windows Installer detects this condition and automatically retrieves a new copy of the file from the installation source (on the Office CD-ROM or the network). Users can continue using the affected feature without interruption.

Every Office 2000 feature consists of a set of components. Each component is a collection of files, registry keys, or other resources that are installed or uninstalled as a unit. When an application starts and the Windows Installer detects that part of a component is missing, it triggers the repair process. The file or registry value that the Windows Installer uses to determine whether a component needs repaired is called the keypath.

You can find out which keypath files or registry values are associated with specific Office 2000 features and components in a Microsoft Excel workbook named KeyPath.xls. If you are curious about how the Windows Installer repair process works and about which files or value entries are used as keypaths, this workbook provides the background information.

Toolbox   The Office Resource Kit includes the workbook Keypath.xls, which lists the files that can trigger the automatic repair process. The Keypath workbook section of the Toolbox includes the download keypath.exe. You can find this downloadable file on the Office 2000 Resource Kit Downloads page.

Keypath.xls lists Office 2000 features in alphabetical order. For each feature, the workbook includes the following information:

• Feature   Name of the feature in abbreviated form.
• Component   Components that comprise the feature, grouped by feature and then listed in alphabetical order. Note that a given component can appear in more than one feature.
• Component ID   Globally unique identifier (GUID) that appears in the Windows registry after a feature containing the component is installed. In the registry, the GUID appears in a compressed format.
• Directory   Folder in which the keypath file is stored (if the keypath is a file).
• Keypath   File or registry value that is used as an indicator for the component.

Note   In the Keypath column, some entries begin with the text msorid, which refers to ORAPI registry data. The Keypath.xls workbook does not provide the registry information for these entries.

The Windows Installer does not initiate the repair process in all circumstances. For example:

• To get the complete repair capabilities in Office 2000, you must install Internet Explorer 4.01 Service Pack 1 or later with Windows Desktop Update.
• If a component contains more than one resource, then the component is repaired only when the designated keypath is missing.

  For example, the Global_Word_Intl component includes two resources — Ww9intl.dll (the keypath) and Email.dot. If Ww9intl.dll is missing when Word 2000 starts, then Global_Word_Intl is repaired automatically. However, if Email.dot is missing, no repair is triggered.

Important   Do not manually delete keypath resources (files or registry values) to trigger a repair by the Windows Installer. If you suspect that files have been corrupted, rerun Office Setup in maintenance mode and use the Repair Office option, or uninstall and then reinstall Office 2000 completely.