The wp_die function I was calling returned a 404 HTTP code to the browser when it output the error message – which is all that Word or Excel could get from the site – thus they believed (correctly) that the URLs were (currently) invalid. I had set up a basic layer of security prior to site launch by including a conditional in the header template of the WordPress site which checked to see if the user was logged in to WordPress as an editor or administrator, and if not – display an error message explaining the site was coming soon. On closer inspection I found that web pages on the site I was developing were indeed returning 404 errors. If there is an error returned from the website for that URL, Word or Excel will refuse to load it. This proved to be a major clue to the problem – it seemed related to the website I was building rather than a problem in Word or anything else.Īfter a bit of Googling I found a technote that explained that the Office programs will attempt to access the link first before forwarding the URL to your browser to load the web page. I had them create some test links to other website and found that these worked without a problem. Strangely enough, I got exactly the same error – which was very perplexing considering that the link itself was completely valid and worked in my browser. I had them send me the spreadsheet and Word document – I don’t use Microsoft Office, but I do have the readers installed.

They also tried doing it in Microsoft Word, but received a similar error. Cannot download the information you requested”.

Whenever they clicked on a link in their spreadsheet, they received an error “Unable to open. They were creating content for their new website that I was in the process of building and wanted to include bookmarks to content they had already created on the site. A client called me asking for help with a problem on one of their Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.

Microsoft word will not open