Right, i did what you suggested peter and the first time i did the solar animation, it worked fine, however when i tried to do it a 2nd time, it just created the text document. Ian is right in saying that it suggests it will be a text doc, but the first time it did create a QT movie. hmmmm....
i have attached a copy of my test file, so let me know your thoughts. must admit, the urgency of sorting this out has reduced as i have just done it in Sketchup but Im keen to pursue it as VW are always harping on about doing EVERYTHING in the one package... !!!