PRB: Checking Out Structure.cnf in VSS Causes FrontPage Error

ID: Q193580

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Visual SourceSafe, 32-bit, for Windows versions 5.0, 6.0
Microsoft FrontPage 98 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

The following error occurs in FrontPage Explorer after you change the navigational structure of a source controlled Web:


   Server error: "Visual Source Safe failure. Verify that you have write
   access to the Visual Source Safe repository. A "You currently have file
   $/<projectname>/_vti_pvt/structure.cnf checked out" error occurred    while operating on file $/<projectname>/_vti_pvt/structure.cnf."

After clicking OK, you get the following message:

FrontPage cannot save the changes you made in the Navigation view. Do you want to get the latest Navigation structure from the server?

NOTE: Click Yes to answer the previous question. This ensures that changes made to the navigational structure are saved despite the error messages that appear in FrontPage.

CAUSE

When the navigational structure is modified, FrontPage does a silent checkout, update, and check in of Structure.cnf. If Structure.cnf is already checked out using the Visual SourceSafe Explorer, FrontPage cannot check out the file and the error messages appear.

RESOLUTION

Check out all FrontPage files using the FrontPage Explorer.

STATUS

This behavior is by design.

MORE INFORMATION

When you are working solely through the FrontPage Explorer, you do not see files contained in the _vti_pvt directory. The only way to check out those files is through the Visual SourceSafe Explorer. It is strongly recommended that all FrontPage files are checked in and out using the Visual SourceSafe integration in the FrontPage Explorer.

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

Open the FrontPage Explorer and create a new one page Web called testweb.

Add testweb to source control by going to Tools menu, clicking Web Settings, click the Configuration tab, and typing the following in the Source Control Project edit box: $/testweb

Click OK. Click Yes to update the project.

Open the Visual SourceSafe Explorer and find testweb, which is a subproject of the root project ($/).

Set a working folder for testweb. Check out Structure.cnf, which is located in the _vti_pvt subproject. In this example, Structure.cnf should be located in $/testweb/_vti_pvt.

Switch back to FrontPage Explorer. Go to the View menu, and click Navigation. Rename the Home Page navigation bar to My Home Page by right-clicking on the navigation bar and clicking Rename.

Close the FrontPage Web.

REFERENCES

For additional information, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q183735 PRB: Saving a File in FrontPage Does a Silent CheckIn

Q191289 HOWTO: Enable Event Error Logging for FrontPage 98 & SourceSafe

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbinterop kbFrontPage kbSSafe500 kbSSafe600 kbSSExplorer
Version : WINDOWS:5.0,6.0
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbprb