hyperlink to mp4 file

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A folder contains multiple MP4 files. I have copied all the filenames into an Excel 2003 workbook, and am trying to create a “friendly” index to the files, using a formula like this: =HYPERLINK(D5,”Friendly text”)

This formula works fine if the referenced file is .DOC or .PDF, but it fails if the file is .MP4. The failure error message dialog box is from Microsoft Excel and it says: “No program is registered to open this file” Windows opens the file properly when it’s double-clicked in Windows Explorer, so I know that the filetype is registered with Windows. How can I make it open from Excel?

In a related issue, clicking the hyperlink always displays a messagebox that hyperlinks may be harmful to the computer or data. Is there a way to suppress these annoying messages? With .DOC and .PDF, a single message is displayed, but for .MP4 there are two annoying messages plus the failure message described above.

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About the hyperlink warning: see How to disable hyperlink warning messages in Office 2003.

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Which application opens MP4 files if you double-click them in Windows Explorer?

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Which application opens MP4 files if you double-click them in Windows Explorer?

It opens with VLC Media Player. I’ve explicitly installed it on this computer.

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Does it help if you re-associate .mp4 files with VLC Player? (I use KMPlayer, and hyperlinks to .mp4 files open KMPlayer without problems)

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Does it help if you re-associate .mp4 files with VLC Player? (I use KMPlayer, and hyperlinks to .mp4 files open KMPlayer without problems)

Thanks, Hans. It seems to be an issue with VLC. I removed VLC from the computer, then the MP4s opened with QuickTime. Re-installed VLC and the hyperlinks failed. Downloaded and installed KMPlayer, and that works properly. Go figure…

You put me onto the right path to find the solution.

And your other answer fixed the annoying messages. Thanks for that, too!

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Hans – finally tracked it down on the VLC website. Turns out that Windows requires both an OPEN and PLAY command to be fully registered. The VLC installer only creates a PLAY command, which works from Explorer, but omits the OPEN command which is required for Hyperlink to work properly.

Isn’t that just a lovely detail…??? The forum’s solution is to create a .REG file for each file extension that is required to be hyperlinked.

After my initial success with KMPlayer, it started behaving strangely. The application would launch successfully, open the file, then immediately close. No idea what changed from its initial success.

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Well, at least you’ve got a solution for VLC Player, even if it is laborious…

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