FP: OLE Errors When Working with FrontPage

 Last reviewed: March 18, 1998
Article ID: Q156909

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft FrontPage 97 for Windows with Bonus Pack
  • Microsoft FrontPage for Windows, versions 1.0, 1.0a, 1.1

SYMPTOMS

When you start either FrontPage Explorer or FrontPage Editor, you may see any of the following errors messages: 

   There is no open Web to receive this page. Please open a Web, and
   then save this page again

   -or-

   FrontPage Explorer caused an access violation.

   -or-

   Cannot get the To Do List from the Server.

   -or-

   Server error: _vti_bin/_vti_adm does not refer to a page in this
   Web Ole32.dll caused an invalid page fault.

   -or-

   Unable to connect to the FrontPage Explorer.

   -or-

   Unable to connect to the FrontPage Editor.

   -or-

   FPEDITOR caused an invalid page fault in module Ole32.dll.

   -or-

   FPEDITOR caused an invalid page fault in module Mfc40.dll.
These problems are likely to occur when you start FrontPage Editor from FrontPage Explorer, or when you save a file from FrontPage Editor back to a Web, or when you use the FrontPage Editor toolbar button to return to the FrontPage Explorer.

Note that other error conditions may produce similar error messages.

CAUSE

There are two common causes for these errors when working with FrontPage.

First check your computer name in either the Identification tab of the Network Properties or in the Networks Control Panel. Also check the host name for your computer on the DNS tab of the TCP/IP properties sheet. If either of these names contains non-alphanumeric characters (except for periods in a DNS host name or dashes in a computer name), FrontPage may be unable to resolve the name to a valid program on your computer. This happens with FrontPage running under Windows NT and Windows 95, and Windows 3.x (for FrontPage 1.0).

If the computer name does not contain an illegal character, but you are still receiving these errors, your Windows 95 system may need to be updated with the OLE Update for Windows 95.

STATUS

Computer names with non-alphanumeric characters are illegal computer names in Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). Since FrontPage uses TCP/IP for authoring operations, illegal TCP/IP names generate errors.

WORKAROUND

Method 1: Illegal Character in Computer Name

Take the illegal character out of the computer name. For example, if your computer's name is 

   My@Work or my@work.mycompany.com
then rename it to 

   My-Work or my-work.mycompany.com
NOTE: If other computers on your network are using shares you have created or have links pointing to your Web pages, those computers may need to re-establish those connections or links.

Method 2: No Illegal Characters in Computer Name, Windows 95 Systems

Install the OLE32 update from 

  http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/info/oleupd.htm
NOTE: Because the Microsoft Web site is constantly updated, the site address may change without notice. If this occurs, link to the Microsoft home page at the following address: 

   http://www.microsoft.com

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 

   ARTICLE-ID: Q138384
   TITLE     : "@" Character in Computer Name Causes OLE Error
               Messages
If you attempt to name computer running Windows NT 4.0 with a restricted character, you receive an error message that indicates that your computer name will not be accessible via internet protocols and will create a substition of a "-" character for every unacceptable character. In additon, Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 does not allow you to enter a restricted character into the DNS Host Name. Windows NT 3.51 does not permit you to enter a restricted character in a DNS name.

Windows NT WINS Services automatically substitutes "-" characters for illegal characters in the computer name in the WINS database. This may not actually prevent these error messages from appearing because FrontPage uses the DNS name if it is present.

FrontPage uses the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) protocol to communicate between FrontPage Editor or FrontPage Explorer components of the program and the Web server session. HTTP is a component of the TCP/IP protocol, and non-alphanumeric characters other than a hyphen or a period are illegal in TCP/IP names. The "." character is reserved for separating host names from domain names.

Additional query words:
Keywords : kbole kbdta
Version : windows:1.0,1.0a,1.1,97
Platform : WINDOWS
Hardware : x86
Issue type : kbprb

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Last reviewed: March 18, 1998
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