OFF97: Errors Opening File Containing ActiveX Controls

• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Word 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Office 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Office 97 Developer Edition for Windows

SYMPTOMS

When you open a file or run a Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications macro that displays a user form, you receive the following error message:

   Compile error: ActiveX component can't create object.

   Could not load an object because it is not available on this machine.

   License information for this component not found. You do not have an
   appropriate license to use this functionality in the design environment.

   -or-

   The control cannot be created because it is not properly licensed.

CAUSE

This problem occurs under the following two conditions:

• You opened a file in Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel or ran a macro to display a user form containing an ActiveX control that ships with the Microsoft Office 97 Developer Edition (ODE) Tools.

  -and-

• You did not have the ODE Tools installed on your computer. Instead, the ActiveX controls were distributed to you.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows and Microsoft Word 97 for Windows. This problem was corrected in Excel 97 Service Release 1 (SR-1) and Word 97 SR-1.

For additional information about SR-1, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q172475
   TITLE     : OFF97: How to Obtain and Install MS Office 97 SR-1

MORE INFORMATION

The ODE includes a Setup Wizard that you can use to create a Setup program for installing files for a custom application. Unless the users have Microsoft Office 97 SR-1 installed, they will receive the error messages listed in the "Symptoms" section of this article when you distribute ActiveX controls with the Setup program.