Customizing Built-in Error Messages

Helping Users Out of the Error Message Box

Error messages, or alerts, are triggered when a user performs an action that the computer cannot successfully carry out. For example, if a user tries to print a document on a network printer without first installing the printer, the message “No printer available” is displayed. If the user does not know how to install a network printer, the user will probably click OK or Cancel and call your support staff.

In Office 2000, you can customize these error messages to provide users with more problem-solving information. You can link a custom button in the error message box to additional information by extending the error message to include comprehensive or updated information on a Web site.

For example, you can create a button in the “No printer available” error message box to connect the user to an intranet site that has instructions for installing a particular network printer.

Extending custom error messages on your network

Some of the Office 2000 error messages are extended by default. These messages connect users to the Office Update Web site so that they can get more information about the problem. You can redirect any of these extended error messages to point to a site on your intranet. Additionally, there are many error messages that are not extended by default, and you can also customize these messages for your users.

Whether you’re creating new custom error messages or redirecting default error messages, you have to create your own Web pages and either modify the sample server-side script or create a new script to handle your custom error messages.

Top

Expanding your use of custom error messages

Linking a custom error message to a Web page containing information about how to solve the problem is the simplest implementation of custom error messages. But if you create your own Active Server Pages (ASP) pages, you can develop more creative, custom solutions that can benefit you, your support staff, and your users.

Suppose your organization already has a system of Help pages available on your intranet site, and you’ve linked specific error messages to those pages by way of a Help Desk button in the error message boxes.

The following process describes what happens when an error in an Office application triggers an error message that you have customized:

1. When a user encounters the error message, the user clicks the Help Desk button to find out what to do.
2. The underlying ASP script checks the error message number, determines which Web page applies, and then redirects the user’s browser to that Web page.
3. If the error message number does not match any of the predefined error message numbers listed in the ASP file, the ASP script connects the user to your generic Help page for more information.

Toolbox   You can look up detailed information about custom error messages (including error numbers and error categories) in an Excel workbook named Errormsg.xls. For information about installing this workbook, see Customizable Alerts.

The following scenarios represent what is possible when writing your own ASP pages to customize error messages.

Reducing calls to your support staff

Custom error messages can help reduce calls to your support staff. For example, you can link a “Server is down” error message to an ASP script that analyzes the occurrence of the error message and notifies your support staff to possible network problems.

When a server goes down, you can also link the error message to a Web page that provides users with status information about the server. So if users are able to get information that you are working on the server and that you expect it to be back on line by the end of the day, they will be less likely to flood your support staff with calls for technical assistance.

Forwarding error messages to your support staff

You can take it a step further and create an ASP script to collect and forward information about error messages to your support staff by means of e-mail or a pager. This use of customized error messages keeps your support staff informed about current issues and allows them to respond more quickly.