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Q156709: XCLN: Errors When Trying to Start EFD

Article: Q156709
Product(s): Microsoft Exchange
Version(s): winnt:4.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbusage
Last Modified: 13-JAN-2000

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Exchange Server, version 4.0 
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SYMPTOMS
========

When you attempt to start the Microsoft Exchange Electronic Forms Designer
(EFD), the following error message may appear:

  Unable to create information structure for clipboard file.

You may also encounter an error after you finish the Forms Designer Wizard by
either clicking Finish before the form template appears or by adding one or more
controls to the template form and clicking Save or Save As on the File menu. The
following error message appears:

  The file, c:\temp\e~fp3733a.tmp', cannot be saved.

CAUSE
=====

These errors are caused by outdated ODBC components or by invalid file pointers
in one or more of the Odbc*.ini files.

WORKAROUND
==========

To work around this problem:

- Verify that the proper ODBC components are installed and that the .ini files
  contain the proper paths to the DLLs.

Additional file clean-up and re-installation of EFD may be required.

STATUS
======

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Exchange version 4.0.
We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the
Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION
================

ODBC is a common interface used and installed by many applications. EFD uses it
in the creation and management of forms. ODBC was first introduced with
Microsoft Access 1.0 and many other applications install one or more of the core
components like Odbc.dll. Currently, detection of installed ODBC components and
whether or not to update them is inconsistent. This can lead to the error
messages and application malfunction.

The following ODBC components are installed by EFD 4.0 Setup:

Filename      Size       Version       Target Directory

Odbc.dll       56240     2.10.2401     Windows\System
Odbcadm.exe     6464     2.10.23.9     Windows\System
Odbccurs.dll   88896     2.10.23.23    Windows\System
Odbcinst.dll   92576     2.10.24.1     Windows\System
Odbcinst.hlp   17412     n/a           Windows\System
Odbcjt16.dll  246928     2.0.23.17     Windows\System
Odbctl16.dll   64080     1.0.23.9      Windows\System

All EFD ODBC components have a date stamp consistent with the product release
date, for example, 3/6/96 or a later Service Pack release date. However, because
setup programs usually compare their version with the existing version's
internal stamp (column 3, above), it is possible that a file with the same or
greater internal version number (but different file date) already exists in the
target directory. In this case, most setup programs will not overwrite the
existing file.

To see the internal version stamps of existing files:

1. Start Msd.exe.

2. On the File menu, click Find File.

3. Type "odbc*.*" (without the quotation marks) in the Search For dialog box.

4. Specify the appropriate drive, and select the Include Sub-dirs checkbox.

This will list all ODBC files on the specified drive and display the associated
internal version stamps. The MSD utility ships with MS-DOS versions 5.x and
later and with Windows versions 3.1 and later. It will run under Windows 95 and
Windows NT. Even though Windows NT will report a direct hard disk access
attempt, you can click Ignore and utility will work.

Odbc.ini files modified by EFD setup:

EFD Setup creates or adds the following sections and entries in the INI files
listed below:

ODBC.INI

  [ODBC Data Sources]
  MS EFD Databases=Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb)

  [MS EFD Databases]
  Driver=C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\odbcjt16.dll
  DriverId=25
  Exclusive=1
  FIL=MS Access;
  JetIniPath=odbcddp.ini
  UID=admin

ODBCDDP.INI

  [ISAM]
  PageTimeout=600
  MaxBufferSize=512

Note the entry "Driver=C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\odbcjt16.dll". A copy of this DLL must
reside in this location in order for EFD to function properly. Additionally,
"JetIniPath=odbcddp.ini" should exist in the \Windows subdirectory and contain
the entries listed above.

Additional Troubleshooting:

Once you verify all of the above files and INI entries, if you start EFD and it
still displays the "Unable to create information structure error message, follow
these steps:

1. Rename the Exchange\Efdforms\Efdcb.mdb and Efdcb.ldb files.

2. Delete all old TMP files from the computer. This might require you to close
  all running applications and restart the computer.

3. Verify that the TEMP environmental variable references a valid path.

4. Restart EFD.

This should generate fresh versions of the EFDCB files. If this fails to resolve
the problem, try reinstalling EFD over the current installation.

Additional query words:

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbusage 
Technology        : kbExchangeSearch kbExchange400 kbZNotKeyword2
Version           : winnt:4.0

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