PRB: "Cannot Open the Browser Database File" on Novell Server

The information in this article applies to:

• The Visual Workbench included with: Microsoft Visual C++ for Windows, version 1.0, 1.5, 1.51, and 1.52

SYMPTOMS

An attempt to open the Source Browser .BSC file associated with a project located on a Novell NetWare file server in Microsoft Visual Workbench (VWB) version 1.0 may cause VWB to display the following message:

   Cannot open the browser database file. Share is not installed or
   is not active for this drive.

CAUSE

The user does not have the necessary access rights to the root directory of the drive on which the .BSC file is stored.

RESOLUTION

Perform one of the following two steps to work around this situation:

• Use the Novell MAP ROOT command to map the directory in which the project is installed to be the root directory for the project drive. See below for more information on mapping a directory as the root for a drive.
• Have the system administrator grant to the user the following rights for the root directory of the drive that contains the .BSC file:

        Right         Meaning
        ----------------------------------------------------------
        Create        May create subdirectories and files
        Erase         May erase directory and files
        File Scan     May scan for files
        Read          May read from files
        Write         May write to files
  
  

MORE INFORMATION

The Microsoft Source Browser attempts to create a hidden file in the root directory of the drive that contains a project. This file is named $$MSVC$$.SHR. For example, if your file server is mapped to drive R:, and a project is located in the R:\WORK\PROJECT directory, the Source Browser attempts to create its file in the R:\ directory.

If the user does not have the necessary rights in the server root directory, the Source Browser cannot create the hidden file and it generates the message above. These rights include the ability to search for, create, read from, and write to files. If the user does not have the right to erase files from the root directory, the Source Browser may be able to successfully open the file once. However, because the Source Browser cannot delete the file in the root directory, subsequent attempts to open the hidden file for writing fail.

To determine the rights a user has in a particular directory, use the Novell RIGHTS command. To determine what rights a user has in the current directory, enter the following at the MS-DOS command prompt:

    RIGHTS

    SERVER_NAME\SYS:WORK\PROJECT
    Your effective rights for this directory are [ RWC    ]
        May Read from File.                        (R)
        May Write to File.                         (W)
        May Create Subdirectories and Files.       (C)

    MAP ROOT R:=SYS:\WORK\PROJECT

After you enter the MAP ROOT command shown above, Novell uses the WORK\PROJECT directory as the root directory for drive R:. In other words, when the current directory is R:\, the WORK\PROJECT directory on the SYS: volume is actually the current directory. As long as the project is opened in the Visual Workbench from the R: drive, when the Source Browser creates its hidden file in the root directory of the R: drive, it actually creates the file in the WORK\PROJECT directory on the SYS: volume. If the user has the necessary rights in this directory, the file creation and deletion operations succeed. Because the project directory contains the source code files, the user should have the right to search for, create, read from, write two, and erase files in that directory.

You can also define a drive mapping as a root drive using the Microsoft Windows File Manager in Microsoft Windows for Workgroups version 3.1. To do this, the Windows for Workgroups installation must include Novell NetWare support. To create a drive mapping in File Manager, perform the following eleven steps:

1. Start the Windows File Manager.

2. Connect to a network drive by clicking the network connection button on the toolbar or by choosing Connect Network Drive from the Disk menu.

3. Select the NetWare button in the Connect Network Drive dialog box.

4. File Manager displays its Network-Drive Connections dialog box that lists the current data drive mappings in effect and lists the drive letters that are available to be mapped. Select the drive letter to use for the root mapping then choose the Browse button.

5. File Manager displays its Browse Connections dialog box that lists the current Novell file servers and volumes available to map a drive letter to. Choose the appropriate file server/volume connection in the Servers/Volumes list box. In the previous example, the server/volume would be SERVER_NAME/SYS:.

6. File Manager displays a list of the directories that can be mapped to on the selected server/volume. Choose the directory that contains the project. The edit control at the top of the Browse Connections dialog box displays the full path to the project directory, including the server/volume. For example, using the previous example, the edit control displays the following:

   SERVER_NAME/SYS:WORK/PROJECT

7. Choose OK to close the Browse Connections dialog box. The focus returns to the Network-Drive Connections dialog box.

8. Choose the Map button. File Manager displays the selected server/volume and directory next to the selected drive letter in the Data drives list box.

9. Choose the Set Root button. File Manager displays a message box asking for confirmation to assign the root to the current path.

10. Choose OK to dismiss the message box.

11. Choose Close to dismiss the Network-Drive Connections dialog box.

For more information on granting rights and mapping drives on a NetWare network, please refer to your Novell NetWare documentation.