BUG: Error: "An errror occurred reading the index file"

The information in this article applies to:

• The development environment included with: Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Edition, versions 2.2

SYMPTOMS

When accessing Books Online from the Help menu you receive this error:

   An errror occurred reading the index file.

CAUSE

There is an error in the VC20BKS.HDX file.

RESOLUTION

This error can be safely ignored. The error does not occur if you access Books Online from the Visual C++ version 2.0 program group or by pressing the F1 key.

You can work around the problem by adding a tool to your Visual Workbench Tools menu. To add a tool follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Customize.

2. Click the Tools tab.

3. Click the Add button.

4. In the Add Tool dialog box, browse for Contents.exe in the Visual C++ Bin directory, and click OK.

5. In the Menu Text field of Tools dialog box, enter:

   Books Online

6. In the Arguments field, enter the following, and be sure to include the quotation marks for these entries:

   "Visual C++ 2.0" "Books Online"

7. Click Close to save the settings. A mew menu entry, "Books Online," is now created in the Visual Workbench Tools menu, which can be used instead of accessing it from the Help menu.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a bug in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.