"Cannot Read Off40art.Idx " Starting ClipArt Gallery

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft ClipArt Gallery, version 1.1
• Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows, versions 4.0, 4.0a, 4.0c
• Microsoft Office for Windows, versions 4.2, 4.3

SYMPTOMS

When you run Microsoft ClipArt Gallery for the first time after installing Office, you may get the following error message:

   Sorry. The file c:\msoffice\clipart\off40art.idx cannot be read.
   This file may be installed incorrectly, someone may be editing
   this file, or you may be having hardware problems.

RESOLUTION

1. Open the ARTGALRY.INI file, which is located in the Windows directory, in a text editor such as Notepad.

2. Disable the following line in the [IMPORT] section by inserting a semicolon (;) at the beginning of the line:

         OFF40CLIPART=C:\MSOFFICE\CLIPART\OFF40ART.IDX
   

   If you prefer, you can delete this line instead of disabling it.

3. Save the ARTGALRY.INI file and exit the text editor.

4. Insert a ClipArt Gallery object into any application that supports OLE.

MORE INFORMATION

When PowerPoint 4.0 or Office 4.2 or 4.3 is installed, Setup adds files with *.PCS, *.THM, and *.IDX extensions. These files are located in the PCSFILES directory and are referenced in the [IMPORT] section of the ARTGALRY.INI file. When you start ClipArt Gallery for the first time, it reads the *.THM and *.IDX lines in this section, adds the relevant information into the ARTGALRY.THM and ARTGALRY.IDX files, and removes the corresponding reference line from the [IMPORT] section.

The reference to the OFF40ART.IDX is generally a result of upgrading from Office 4.0 to Office 4.2. This file is removed from the PC during the Office 4.2 installation process, but Setup does not remove the reference in the ARTGALRY.INI [IMPORT] section.