Hello,

I have an issue with a client document. This problem is recurrent but this time it's insane. The Word 2010 document that I received from the client has inserted objects or tables that seemed to be linked to a server path from the clients network. Now obviously when I try to open this document it tries to connect to that server path numerous times and the message I see is "Contacting server \\DCMain\share1\...\ Press ESC to cancel". The document takes 15-20 minutes to open. Finally when it does open I get a pop-up windows "This document contains links that may refer to other files. Do you what to update this document with the data from the linked files?"

I searched Google and find nothing helpful.

1-This is not a template path issue in Word since the template is local.

2-It has nothing to do with Domain accounts or permissions since the links are from a foreign network thus unavailable to me.

3-"Microsoft Sharepoint Foundation Support" has been deactivated. Issue still stands.

So the question is this, is there a way to prevent Word from trying to access inserted links when the document opens? Ignoring these links would speed up the process of opening the document immensely. This is a well documented issue on the Internet with no solution.

Let me know if you need more information. I'm still seaching and will post steps soon if no solution is provided.

Hi Mike,

Have you tried uncheck the option - "Update automatic links at open" under Word Options - Advanced - General

Yes I have and the issue is still present.

In the Templates and Add-Ins dialog box, see which template is attached to the affected document(s). Chances are Word is looking for a non-existing template file on the old server. If that turns out to be the case, assign a different template, such as Normal.dotm.
              
 To display the dialog box, you can click Document Template on the Developer tab. (Display the Developer tab by clicking it in File tab | Options | Customize Ribbon, if it isn't already showing.)

In the Templates and Add-Ins dialog box, see which template is attached to the affected document(s). Chances are Word is looking for a non-existing template file on the old server. If that turns out to be the case, assign a different template, such as Normal.dotm.
              
 To display the dialog box, you can click Document Template on the Developer tab. (Display the Developer tab by clicking it in File tab | Options | Customize Ribbon, if it isn't already showing.)

As stated in the original message, this has nothing to do with template path. The template is local and this issue is only visible with docs sent by one client. Please read before posting!