XFOR: Notes Client Gets Error Message: Error Loading Metafile

ID: Q183290

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Exchange Server, versions 4.0, 5.0, 5.5
  • Microsoft Exchange Windows NT client, versions 4.0, 5.0
  • Microsoft Exchange Windows 95/98 client, versions 4.0, 5.0
  • Microsoft Outlook Windows 95/98 client, version 8.03
  • Microsoft Outlook Windows NT client, version 8.03


IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

A Lotus Notes client (versions 4.5 and 4.6) may receive the following error message:

Error loading Metafile
when you open a message sent from an Exchange client and delivered through either the Exchange Notes Connector (Exchange Server 5.5 - NMC) or the LinkAge Notes Connector (for Lotus Notes 3.2).

NOTE: For additional diagnostic symptoms of this issue, see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:
Q179197 XFOR: Notes Client Receives "Error Loading Metafile"
This problem can occur when all of the following statements are true:

  • The message is composed using the Exchange client or the Outlook client.


  • The message is composed using WordMail as the message editor.


  • The Exchange Server message composition includes a screen capture (ALT+PRINTSCREEN or CTRL+PRINTSCREEN) pasted into (CTRL+V or by clicking Paste from the Edit menu) the message body. (Additionally, On the Insert menu, click Picture, then click From file[ASCII 133] can cause this same result.)


  • The message is routed into Lotus Notes using the LinkAge Notes Connector (for Lotus Notes 3.2) with Exchange Server 4.0 or 5.0, or using Exchange Server 5.5 and its Exchange Note Connector.



CAUSE

The Lotus Notes client's export\import filters do not properly convert inline bitmaps within a Rich Text Format (RTF) structure into a valid Composite Data structure.


WORKAROUND

A Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) macro can be employed within the Exchange client's enabling WordMail document template (Email.dot by default) to replace the default Edit and Paste behavior of WordMail. A code sample is provided below. Please read the MORE INFORMATION section and ALL the information about this macro before using it.

WARNING: Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose.

This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language being demonstrated and the tools used to create and debug procedures. Microsoft support engineers can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific needs. If you have limited programming experience, you may want to contact the Microsoft fee-based consulting line at (800) 936-5200. For more information about the support options available from Microsoft, please see the following page on the World Wide Web:

http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/refguide/default.asp
The following macro changes the default behavior of the Edit and Paste functionality within any composition by using a document template (a Xxxxxxx.dot file) that has this macro added to it.

It is recommended that you do the following:

  1. Edit an existing Email.dot template.


  2. Add the following VBA code as a macro named "EditPaste" (without the quotation marks).


  3. Save the document template (possibly under a new name, for example, Emailnmc.dot).


  4. Distribute the new template to Exchange clients that use WordMail.


  5. Configure the Exchange or Outlook clients to use the new document template (see "Installing the template" below). 
    
   *** Begin VBA code ***

    Sub EditPaste()
    '
    ' New Default EditPaste Command
    ' Scripted 17/03/98 by David Ellis
    On Error GoTo TIM
    If Selection.Information(wdInWordMail) = 0 Then GoTo ZIG
       Set myDialog = Dialogs(wdDialogEditPasteSpecial)
       a$ = myDialog.Datatype
       If a$ <> "DIB" Then GoTo ZIG
       ' WordObject paste in progress
       Application.ScreenUpdating = False
       Selection.PasteSpecial Datatype:=wdPasteBitmap, Placement:=wdInLine
       Selection.MoveLeft Unit:=wdCharacter, Count:=1
       Selection.MoveRight Unit:=wdCharacter, Count:=2, Extend:=wdExtend
       Selection.Cut
       Selection.PasteSpecial Datatype:=wdPasteOLEObject,
   Placement:=wdInLine
       Selection.TypeParagraph
       Selection.MoveRight Unit:=wdCharacter, Count:=1, Extend:=wdExtend
       Selection.Copy
       Selection.MoveLeft Unit:=wdCharacter, Count:=1
       GoTo ZAG
    TIM:
    If Err = 4605 Then MsgBox "Unable to paste. Please copy the item and
    try pasting again.", vbInformation, "Microsoft Outlook"
    GoTo ZAG
    MsgBox "Unable to paste. Please re-copy the item and paste again.",
    vbInformation, "Microsoft Outlook"
    GoTo ZAG
    ZIG:
       Selection.Paste
    ZAG:
       Application.ScreenUpdating = True
    End Sub
   *** End VBA code ***


Using the Macro

The macro is engaged whenever the user clicks Paste from the Edit menu, or alternatively whenever the user uses the Paste toolbar button or the shortcut key combination CTRL+V. The macro's action remains transparent to the user.

The macro is selective about when, and if, it changes existing Edit and Paste behavior. It only changes existing behavior if the data pasted is of datatype DIB (device independent bitmap). Word identifies desktop screen captures as DIBs. Images cut and pasted from other applications usually carry the application's or object's OLE identity with them, and Word treats them as OLE objects within the document or message composition.

The macro results in the screen capture being included in the document or message as an OLE Word object instead of an inline bitmap within the RTF_Body. These Word objects traverse the Connector for Lotus Notes and can be successfully rendered within the Notes client.

Issues with Using this Macro

There are two issues with using this macro:

  1. An OLE Word object tends to be somewhat larger than the inline bitmap of the same screen capture. Although the difference is not excessive, the required storage space, transfer time, and time for an Exchange client to display the message may be greater than for a comparable RTF inline bitmap.


  2. After a screen capture is pasted into the message body, the clipboard buffer is overwritten. If you intend to paste multiple copies of the SAME screen capture into this message or additional messages, you must re-capture the desired screenshot and paste it into the message. This is to prevent a subsequent paste action from introducing an inline bitmap object that would result in the message, once again, not being rendered in the Notes client.


Installing the Template

Manual installation of a new template requires the following steps:

  1. Copy the new template file to the user's computer. The default location for Email.dot is <install-drive>:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office. If the new template is named Email.dot, and it is allowed to overwrite the existing Email.dot, no further configuration is necessary besides restarting the client.


  2. Configure the client to use the template: For Outlook, perform the following steps:

    1. On the Tools menu, click Options, then click the Email tab.


    2. Click Template.


    3. Locate and specify the template file to be used. Click Apply.


    For Exchange Inbox:

    1. On the Compose menu, click WordMail options...


    2. Click Add.


    3. Locate and specify the template file to be used. Click Add.


    4. Select the new template from the list, and select the Set As Default Template check box. Click Close.




Automated installation:

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it.

With automated methods for installing the template, for example, Microsoft Systems Management Server, you must place the file in the desired location and specify the full path and file name to the template in the following registry value:

For Office 98: 

   HKEY_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Office\8.0\Word\Stationary

For Office 95: 

   HKEY_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Office\7.0\Word\Stationary

   Default Template:REG_SZ:<full-path-and-filename-to-document-template>


RESOLUTION

Microsoft has modified the Exchange Notes Connector to improve interoperability between Lotus Notes and Microsoft Exchange Server.

To obtain this feature, obtain the latest service pack for Exchange Server version 5.5. For more information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q191014 XGEN: How to Obtain the Latest Exchange Server 5.5 Service Pack

This feature was first included in Exchange Server 5.5 Service Pack 2.


STATUS

Lotus Notes is manufactured by Lotus, a vendor independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding this product's performance or reliability.


MORE INFORMATION

The WordMail default action for pasting screen captures into an e-mail composition is to paste the capture (recognized by WordMail as a device independent bitmap [DIB]) from the clipboard into the message body as an inline bitmap within the Rich Text Format (RTF) body of the composition. Inline bitmaps are fully supported by the current RTF specification, and RTF is a native document format of Microsoft Exchange Server.

The Lotus Notes native document format is Composite Data (CD). The Lotus Notes client provides Export\Import filters (Nxrtf.dll and Nirtf.dll), which include transforms for converting RTF-to-CD and vice versa. The Exchange Notes Connector and the earlier LinkAge Notes Connector rely on the functionality available in these Notes DLLs for conversion of RTF-to-CD (Exchange message body converted from Exchange Server to Notes) and CD-to- RTF (Notes message body converted from Notes to Exchange Server). Lotus Development has not updated these conversion routines to support the current RTF specification, and the routines do not properly handle RTF structures with inline bitmaps within the RTF_Body. The result is that a message that cannot be rendered can be delivered to the Notes recipient.

Keywords : kbusage exc55sp2fea XFOR
Version : WINDOWS:4.0,5.0,5.5,8.03
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbprb


Last Reviewed: April 3, 1999
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