PRB: Visual Basic Package & Deployment Wizard Includes Office OLB Files in Setup List

ID: Q249843

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Visual Basic Professional and Enterprise Editions for Windows, version 6.0
Microsoft Office 2000 Developer, version 2000

SYMPTOMS

When running the Visual Basic 6.0 Package and Deployment Wizard to create a setup package for an application that automates Microsoft Office, you may receive a dialog box with the following message:

Below is a list of files for which dependency information could not be found. To proceed without the dependency information for the file(s), click OK. To permanently mark a file as having no dependencies, select its checkbox.

The dialog box then lists one or more of the following files:


   EXCEL8.OLB    MSACC8.OLB    MSO9.DLL       MSOUTL9.OLB    MSWORD9.OLB
   EXCEL9.OLB    MSACC9.OLB    MSO97.DLL      MSPPT8.OLB     XL5EN32.OLB
   GRAPH8.OLB    MSBDR8.OLB    MSOUTL8.OLB    MSPPT9.OLB
   GRAPH9.OLB    MSBDR9.OLB    MSOUTL85.OLB   MSWORD8.OLB

Visual Basic adds these files to your setup package if you have a reference set to them in the current project. However, these files are not redistributable and should not be deployed to a system that already has Office 97 or Office 2000 installed.

MORE INFORMATION

Applications that automate Microsoft Office do not need to redistribute any of the files listed in the previous section.

Visual Basic developers building a setup package for an application or component that automates Office should be aware of the following items.

The Package and Deployment Wizard does not recognize the *.olb file extension as a type library and incorrectly assumes it to be a binary executable. However, an .olb file (like a TLB) contains type information only. It is used to provide binding information to Visual Basic at compile time and does not need to be redistributed. The implementation of the type information (that is, the code) is in the Office executable itself.

The type library for the Microsoft Office Object library is stored inside MsO97.dll (or MsO9.dll), which the wizard recognizes as a valid dependency. However, the MSO library is not redistributable, and should not be included in your setup. The correct version of the library (including any service packs) has already been installed on the client system by Office setup. Clients are discouraged from installing another copy, which can inadvertently effect Office functionality.

To exclude these files during the building of your setup package, uncheck the box next to the file name in the Included Files page of the wizard. The wizard warns you that your application may not function without these files. You can safely ignore the warning. The client system should already have the correct files when Office is installed.

Additional query words: PDW Office typelib References Word Excel PowerPoint Outlook Access

Keywords : kbAppSetup kbGrpDSO
Version : WINDOWS:6.0; :2000
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbprb