You receive an "'Edit Document' requires a Windows SharePoint Services-compatible application" error message when you try to modify a document that is stored in a document library in SharePoint Portal Server 2003 or in Windows SharePoint Services

Microsoft Office 2000 is installed on your client computer. You connect to a document library in Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003 or in Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services. You click the down arrow next to a Microsoft Office document that you want to modify. Then, you click Edit in Microsoft ProgramName to modify that document in the Office 2000 program. However, the document does not open in the Office 2000 program. Instead, you receive the following error message: You receive this error message even though Internet Explorer 5.0 or a later version is installed on your client computer.

This behavior occurs because you can only use an Office 2000 program to open or to save a document that is stored in a document library. You cannot use an Office 2000 program to modify a document in a document library and then save the document to the document library. This applies to Office 2000 programs such as the following:

• Microsoft Word 2000
• Microsoft Excel 2000
• Microsoft PowerPoint 2000
• Microsoft Project 2000
• Microsoft FrontPage 2000

To work around this behavior, use one of the following methods.

Method 1

Use Explorer view to open and to modify documents in the document library. To use Explorer view, follow these steps:

1. Connect to the document library. Click Explorer view under Select a View in the left pane.
2. Double-click the document that you want to modify.
3. Make the changes that you want to make, and then click Save on the File menu.

Method 2

Connect to the document library by using the document library URL. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Start the Office 2000 program.
   
   For example, start Word 2000 if you want to open a Word document that is stored in the document library.
2. On the File menu, click Open.
3. Type the path of the document library in the File name box, and then click Open. For example, type one of the following:

   • If the document is stored in a document library on the portal site, type the following line in the File name box:

     http://ServerName/DocumentLibraryName
   • If the document is stored in a document library in a Windows SharePoint Services Web site, type the following line in the File name box:

     http://ServerName/Sites/SiteName/DocumentLibraryName
4. Double-click the document that you want to modify.
5. Make the changes that you want to make, and then click Save on the File menu.

For more information about Windows SharePoint Services integration with Microsoft Office 2000, see the "Good, better, best: Windows SharePoint Services integration with Microsoft Office" white paper. To obtain this white paper, visit the following Microsoft Web site: