0
  • OS: Mac OS X El Capitan (10.11.4)
  • MS Office 2011

I received the error "There was an error accessing /Users/Username/Documents/Aux/Powerpoint.pptx."

Image for reference: Error Dialog - Directories blanked out for privacy

I have pinned it down to the directory being named "Aux" (I changed it to: NotAux and had no issue saving or accessing the file) and I noticed elsewhere that people have had the same problem when saving under a directory named "home":

http://www.officeformachelp.com/2012/11/office-2011-applications-fail-to-work-with-volumes-named-home/

I've looked around on Google and stackoverflow but I'm not sure if I'm searching for the right thing to get an answer to the following question:

 

Is there a list of invalid directory names that need to be avoided to prevent this issue from happening?

 

 

EDIT: Please note, this is not a duplicate of: Validate Windows filename Even though a commenter flagged it as possibly a duplicate. This problem is not on Microsoft Windows (although it is possible that the origin of the issue comes from some directory naming convention in Windows...) and, while the linked post mentions asserting that "Aux" is not a filename, it has no mention of home being an invalid file or directory name (I only skimmed the code in the post but it was clearly a different issue)

Community
  • 1
  • 1
Montag
  • 625
  • 1
  • 6
  • 12
  • That sounds like Microsoft doing Windows path checks that make no sense on Mac (AUX is reserved on Windows because of MS-DOS…). So have a look [at Microsofts list of reserved file names](https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa365247(v=vs.85).aspx). But this question is off-topic for SO, please ask on SuperUser or some other StackExchange site. – DarkDust Apr 04 '16 at 16:08
  • Possible duplicate of [Validate Windows filename](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/13740661/validate-windows-filename) – AdrianHHH Apr 04 '16 at 16:13
  • See my answer [here](http://stackoverflow.com/a/36227372/62576) - that question may mean this is a duplicate because MS may use the same basic rules regarding those special filenames on Mac as well as Windows in Office apps. I can easily see a check for those folder or file names in common code that is shared between the Windows and Mac versions. I'm not voting to close as a dupe, but you may want to take that question into consideration. – Ken White Apr 07 '16 at 22:47
  • Thank you Ken. I will take that question into consideration. My reason for asking was also because if I am having an issue there is usually at least one other person out there scouring the web for a solution as well. Hopefully either I or someone else will find an answer to this! – Montag Apr 10 '16 at 20:55

0 Answers0