January/February 1999
The MSDN Answer Team
By now you've had a chance to check out the October 1998 edition of the MSDN™ Library, and you've probably noticed some changes. This is the first edition of the Library to use the Microsoft® HTML Help system to view the content. Our Library product team and the MSDN Answer Team have put together the following questions and answers to help you through some of the more common scenarios you may encounter with the new format.
Does the October Library let me access the Library CDs from multiple CD-ROM drives, either in the same machine or on different machines?
This can be done, but Disc 1 must reside on the local machine. In other words, you can still share out Discs 2 and 3 on a network machine, but installation must be done on a local machine using Disc 1. When prompted for Disc 2 or Disc 3, point to the mapped drives that are connected to Discs 2 and 3. Currently, this is the only way it is supported. Also remember that anyone who is using the MSDN Library—whether on the local machine or from a server—must have a license to use the MSDN Library.
Can I install the Library from a shared drive or server with the October 1998 release? I could do it with the July release.
You can still do this—the procedure has just changed a little. Here are the steps:
Note Because Discs 1 and 2 have a directory called MSDN, when you try to copy the contents of Disc 2 to the same directory, it will ask you if you would like to replace any duplicate files, if there are any. You should click No, because there shouldn't be any duplicate files.
Note Again, anyone who uses the MSDN Library must have a license to use it.
Why do I receive error messages that read: "Internet Explorer cannot open the internet site MK:@xxxxxxx <location>, xxxx <topic/title> could not be found"?
This is typically a sign that you have tried to install the October 1998 Library from Disc 1, which is on a shared drive. If you are experiencing this symptom, you may benefit from using the approach just recommended for shared CD installation.
Why am I having problems running the MSDN Library, Visual Studio 6.0 version, concurrently with the MSDN Library, October 1998 version?
If you install the October 1998 version of the Library, and map Disc 2, you may get the following error when you click a topic:
The instruction at "0x5d34543c" referenced memory at "0x0000000c". The memory could not be "read".
Resolution: Uninstall MSDN Library, Visual Studio® 6.0 to fix this problem. This only occurs if the CDs are located on a server.
When trying to open or copy sample files, I get the message: "An error occurred accessing the archive data."
Example: Search for "ordersys," select "demonstrates round-trip engineering of Visual Basic applications," and then select "Click to open or copy the ORDERSYS model and project files."
Resolution: Load the sample directly from Disc 1.
What happened to the Visual Studio 97 documentation?
The Visual Studio 97 documentation was removed from the MSDN Library with the release of Visual Studio 6.0. Visual Studio 97 users should keep the July 1998 MSDN Library release on their machine for the most recent Visual Studio 97 documentation. In addition, you may also install the October 1998 MSDN Library to receive the most up-to-date technical articles, white papers, conference papers, and other helpful materials.
Why do I get more than one version of the MSDN Library with my subscription set (such as the Visual Studio 6.0 Library and October 1998 Library)? Which version should I use?
Subscribers who have both the MSDN Library, Visual Studio 6.0 version, and the MSDN Library, October 1998 version, should load only the October version. This is the most up-to-date content and includes all the Visual Studio 6.0 product documentation.
A few of you have written in asking when we will be shipping the German version of the MSDN Library.
When the MSDN Library used InfoViewer technology, a user was required to uninstall the MSDN Library each quarter. With HTML Help, this is no longer the case. As such, a German customer will be able to have the localized version of the MSDN Library, Visual Studio 6.0 version, installed on a machine in addition to the MSDN Library updates (such as October 1998). This means that a German customer can have both the localized documentation and the most up-to-date MSDN Library together on the same machine! Because of this we won't be creating a German version of the MSDN Library.
Apparently, there has been discussion in the newsgroups about a couple of recent Microsoft events at which attendees were given copies of the Office 2000 Beta 2. Many subscribers have expressed concern that they aren't getting the Office 2000 beta first, and should have received it before nonsubscribers.
Well, we're here to put this to rest: MSDN will be shipping Office 2000 Developer, which will be released a few weeks after the Office 2000 beta, and is only being made available to a small number of people—including MSDN Universal Subscribers.
Please refer to http://msdn.microsoft.com/developer/services/subscription/upcoming.htm for more information.
The cover letter that came with the Universal-level October quarterly release seemed to indicate that there was a Service Pack for Outlook® 98 on Disc 15 of the BackOffice Test Platform, U.S. Pack. When you went looking for it, however, it wasn't there. You checked the index on our site, hoping where to look would be made clear—but alas, no mention of this elusive Outlook 98 Service Pack was made. What kind of sick joke are those MSDN people playing on you, anyway?
Does this seem like a familiar story? We heard this tale from one of our subscribers, did a little bit of research … and found out that we made a labeling mistake. (Sorry.) It should have read "Outlook clients with Exchange Server 5.5, Service Pack 1." In your searching, you may have noticed a "/PATCH" directory that contains a security patch. At this time, this security patch is the only available update for Outlook 98.