PRB: MFC Browser Library (MFC.BSC) Can't Find MFC Source Files

• Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Editions, version 5.0

SYMPTOMS

The MFC browser library (MFC.BSC) that ships with Visual C++ has problems finding the target source code files, requiring you to enter the directory path.

Visual C++ may also load the wrong version of source files, depending on where different versions of Visual C++ are loaded. For example, if the Visual C++ 4.0 source files are loaded on E: drive, they will be found instead of the Visual C++ 5.0 files.

CAUSE

These problems are caused by different directory paths embedded in the MFC.BSC file and the actual location of these files on your hard disk. For the browser to work properly, these directory paths must be the same.

The directory path that the MFC browse library was created on (E:\msdev\mfc\src) is different from the default installation path for the MFC source code (C:\Program Files\DevStudio\Vc\mfc\src). The browser can find the files if the drive letter is different. However, it fails to find the target files and consequently prompts for the target directory if the paths are different.

RESOLUTION

You can work around this by rebuilding the MFC browser library (MFC.BSC).

Steps to Rebuild the MFC Browser Library

1. Verify that you have around 400 megabytes of free disk space on the drive where Visual C++ is installed. This much space is required to build the browse information. 358 megabytes that are used by .SBR files can be freed once the browser database has been built. Temporary files require the additional space. Temporary files are automatically deleted.

2. From a Command Prompt, run the Vcvars32.Bat, which should be in the <drive>:<DevStudio directory path>\vc\bin, to set the proper environment variables. Change to the <drive>:<Devstudio directory path>\Vc\Mfc\Src directory, and build the browse information by running the nmake on the makefile:

         nmake browseonly=1 no_pch=1 no_pdb=1 dll=2
   

   This creates NafxeWD.bsc file and a subdirectory called $DLLD.W with .SBR files.

3. Provided you do not plan to rebuild the browse database frequently, remove all files in the $DLLD.W directory, and then remove the directory itself. The intermediate .SBR files occupy roughly 358 megabytes of disk space and are not required to use the browser.

4. If you want to, you can change the new browse file from NafxeWD.BSC to MFC.BSC.

STATUS

This behavior is by design.

REFERENCES

For additional information regarding the building of the MFC.BSC library, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q98656
   TITLE     : INFO: Creating a Browser Library for the Foundation Classes

   ARTICLE-ID: Q138326
   TITLE     : HOWTO: Create a Browser Library for the Common Control
               Classes