Cannot save Excel file that you open in Microsoft Internet Explorer

When you open a Microsoft Excel file from a server and click Save As on the File menu, you are prompted for your Microsoft Windows NT credentials. If you click Cancel, the credentials dialog box closes, but the local Save As dialog box is not displayed.

This problem occurs whether the file is streamed through Active Server Pages (ASP) or you open the file by clicking a link in a Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) page.

This problem occurs when the file is on a server that runs Microsoft Internet Information Services and the server is using NT Challenge Response authentication.

To work around this problem, create a new registry key. To do this, follow these steps.

Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall the operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.

1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit.exe, and then press ENTER.
2. In Registry Editor, locate and click the following subkey:
   • Excel 2002:
     HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Excel\Options
   • Excel 2003:
     HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Excel\Options
   • Excel 2007:
     HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Excel\Options
3. On the Edit menu, click Add Value. Create the following registry value:
   Value name: AlwaysSaveToCurrentPath
   Data type: REG_DWORD
   Radix: Decimal
   Value data: 1
4. Exit Registry Editor.

Excel will suppress the NT Challenge Response dialog box. Excel will open the Save As dialog box instead.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.