PC Forms: Message Class Not Preserved When Forwarding

• Microsoft Electronic Forms Designer, version 1.0, running with Microsoft Mail for PC Networks, version 3.0, 3.0b, or 3.2

SYMPTOMS

When a message created with version 1.0 of Microsoft Electronic Forms Designer is forwarded from a version 3.0, 3.0b, or 3.2 Microsoft Mail for Windows user who does not have E-Forms installed, the message arrives as a text message with the following error message:

   Displaying this message correctly requires a custom E-Form that is
   not available, or is incorrectly installed. Please contact your
   network administrator for more information.

CAUSE

The message class is not preserved when a message is forwarded from a Windows client that does not have E-Forms installed and that does not understand the message class.

To the client that forwarded the message, the E-Form is a message of unknown class. Mail converts the message to a standard note so the Windows client cannot delete class-specific information from the message. Deleting the message class definition causes the above error when the forwarded message is read.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in versions 3.0, 3.0b, and 3.2 of Microsoft Mail for Windows. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.