Knowledge Base

BUG: Cannot Reference Excel 8.0 Object Library from VB 4.0x

Article ID: 170356

Article Last Modified on 2/12/2007

APPLIES TO

This article was previously published under Q170356

SYMPTOMS

Microsoft Visual Basic 4.0x does not allow addition of the Microsoft Excel 8.0 Object Library via Tools/References when the Microsoft Excel 5.0 Object Library is listed there.

CAUSE

When adding a new version of an object (or type) library to its Tools/Reference list, Microsoft Visual Basic 4.0x, in spite of the distinctly different version numbers of the old and new object libraries, insists, via an internal string-comparison routine, that the new library's Locale/Country ID (LCID) be identical to the old library's LCID. Because the Microsoft Excel 5.0 Object Library has an LCID of 9 (English) and the Microsoft Excel 8.0 Object Library has an LCID of 0 (Default Language), this test fails; Microsoft Visual Basic 4.0x then displays the error:
"Object library's language setting incompatible with current project"
and does not add the new library to the Tools/Reference list.

RESOLUTION

There are two workarounds: one affects all newly created projects; the other, the current project only.

NOTE 1: The underscore character (_) below is used as a line-continuation character and should not be typed. There should be no spaces between the character preceding the underscore and the letter on the next line.

NOTE 2: The references below presume that the directory containing Microsoft Office 97 for Windows is C:\OFFICE97 and that the pertinent Microsoft Excel 8.0 Object Library file, EXCEL8.OLB, is located in the directory C:\OFFICE97\OFFICE.

Method 1

This approach modifies Microsoft Visual Basic 4.0x's default project file so that the Microsoft Excel 8.0 Object Library will be available to all newly-created projects.

  1. In a text editor such as NOTEPAD.EXE, open the AUTO32LD.VBP project file, located in the Microsoft Visual Basic 4.0x directory. The file's contents will resemble the following:
       Object={F9043C88-F6F2-101A-A3C9-08002B2F49FB}#1.0#0; comdlg32.ocx
   Object={BDC217C8-ED16-11CD-956C-0000C04E4C0A}#1.0#0; tabctl32.ocx
   Object={3B7C8863-D78F-101B-B9B5-04021C009402}#1.0#0; richtx32.ocx
   Object={6B7E6392-850A-101B-AFC0-4210102A8DA7}#1.0#0; comctl32.ocx
   Object={FAEEE763-117E-101B-8933-08002B2F4F5A}#1.0#0; dblist32.ocx
   Object={00028C01-0000-0000-0000-000000000046}#1.0#0; DBGRID32.OCX
   Object={F6125AB1-8AB1-11CE-A77F-08002B2F4E98}#1.0#0; msrdc32.ocx
   Reference=*\G{BEF6E001-A874-101A-8BBA-00AA00300CAB}#2.0#0#C:\WINDOWS\_
      SYSTEM32\OLEPRO32.DLL#Standard OLE Types
   Reference=*\G{EE008642-64A8-11CE-920F-08002B369A33}#1.0#0#C:\WINDOWS\_
      SYSTEM32\MSRDO32.dll#Microsoft Remote Data Object 1.0
   Name="Project1"
  2. Add the line below: 
       Reference=*\G{00020813-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}#1.2#0#C:\OFFICE97\_
      OFFICE\EXCEL8.OLB#Microsoft Excel 8.0 Object Library
    so that the file appears as follows:
       Object={F9043C88-F6F2-101A-A3C9-08002B2F49FB}#1.0#0; comdlg32.ocx
   Object={BDC217C8-ED16-11CD-956C-0000C04E4C0A}#1.0#0; tabctl32.ocx
   Object={3B7C8863-D78F-101B-B9B5-04021C009402}#1.0#0; richtx32.ocx
   Object={6B7E6392-850A-101B-AFC0-4210102A8DA7}#1.0#0; comctl32.ocx
   Object={FAEEE763-117E-101B-8933-08002B2F4F5A}#1.0#0; dblist32.ocx
   Object={00028C01-0000-0000-0000-000000000046}#1.0#0; DBGRID32.OCX
   Object={F6125AB1-8AB1-11CE-A77F-08002B2F4E98}#1.0#0; msrdc32.ocx
   Reference=*\G{BEF6E001-A874-101A-8BBA-00AA00300CAB}#2.0#0#C:\WINDOWS\_
      SYSTEM32\OLEPRO32.DLL#Standard OLE Types
   Reference=*\G{EE008642-64A8-11CE-920F-08002B369A33}#1.0#0#C:\WINDOWS\_
      SYSTEM32\MSRDO32.dll#Microsoft Remote Data Object 1.0
   Reference=*\G{00020813-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}#1.2#0#C:\OFFICE97\_
      OFFICE\EXCEL8.OLB#Microsoft Excel 8.0 Object Library
   Name="Project1"
  3. Save the AUTO32LD.VBP file and close the text editor.
  4. Start Microsoft Visual Basic 4.0x and select Tools, then References.
  5. The Microsoft Excel 5.0 Object Library no longer appears in the list. Instead, the Microsoft Excel 8.0 Object Library is available and checked for use.

Method 2

This technique modifies a given project's VBP file to include the Microsoft Excel 8.0 Object Library just for that project.

  1. Save and close the project with the Microsoft Excel 5.0 Object Library reference.
  2. In a text editor such as NOTEPAD.EXE, open the project's VBP file and change the reference to Microsoft Excel from: 
       Reference=*\G{00020813-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}#1.0#9#C:\OFFICE97\_
      OFFICE\XL5EN32.OLB#Microsoft Excel 5.0 Object Library
    to:
       Reference=*\G{00020813-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}#1.2#0#C:\OFFICE97\_
      OFFICE\EXCEL8.OLB#Microsoft Excel 8.0 Object Library
  3. Save the project's VBP file and close the text editor.
  4. Start Microsoft Visual Basic 4.0x, and then load and save the project.
  5. Select Tools, then References. The Microsoft Excel 5.0 Object Library no longer appears in the list. Instead, the Microsoft Excel 8.0 Object Library is available and checked for use with this project. Newly- created projects will revert to the Microsoft Excel 5.0 Object Library.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a bug in the versions of Microsoft Visual Basic listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

Microsoft Visual Basic 4.0x requires LCID consistency for a given object library's Globally Unique Identifier (GUID), even if the incoming object library's version number is different from the existing object library's version number. Both the Microsoft Excel 5.0 Object Library and the Microsoft Excel 8.0 Object Library share the same GUID, so this arbitrary LCID rule is enforced.

The behavior is particularly noticeable after installing Microsoft Office 97 to a machine containing both Microsoft Visual Basic 4.0x and one of the aforementioned earlier versions of Microsoft Office for Windows; the Microsoft Excel 8.0 Object Library is conspicuously absent from Microsoft Visual Basic 4.0x's Tools/Reference list, yet all of the other Microsoft Office 97 Object Libraries are shown (namely, those for Microsoft Office 8.0, Microsoft Access 8.0, Microsoft Binder 8.0, Microsoft Graph 8.0, Microsoft PowerPoint 8.0, and Microsoft Word 8.0).

Steps to Reproduce Problem

NOTE: The following presumes that Microsoft Visual Basic 4.0x, Microsoft Excel for Windows (5.0x or 7.0x), and Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows 8.0 have been installed.

  1. Start Microsoft Visual Basic 4.0x.
  2. For the new, default project, select Tools, then References, and choose the Microsoft Excel 5.0 Object Library. Click OK.
  3. On a Microsoft Visual Basic 4.0x form, create a CommandButton and type the code below into its click event: 
          Private Sub cmdMakeMyChart_Click()
         Dim xlchart As Chart
         Set xl = CreateObject("Excel.Application")
         xl.Visible = True
         xl.Workbooks.Add
         xl.Range("a1").Value = 1
         xl.Range("a2").Value = 2
         xl.Range("a3").Value = 3
         xl.Range("a4").Formula = "=sum(a1:a3)"
         xl.Range("A1").CurrentRegion.Select
         Set xlchart = xl.Charts.Add()
         xlchart.Type = xl3DColumn
         'xlchart.ChartType = xlPyramidCol
      End Sub
  4. Run the code, click the CommandButton, and observe the instantiation of Microsoft Excel for Windows (5.0x or 7.0x) as an OLE automation server. A three-dimensional column chart of four values is created.
  5. Close Microsoft Excel without saving the resultant workbook.
  6. Now, move the apostrophe in the above code so that: 
          xlchart.Type = xl3DColumn
      'xlchart.ChartType = xlPyramidCol
    becomes:
          'xlchart.Type = xl3DColumn
      xlchart.ChartType = xlPyramidCol
Because the pyramid chart is unique to Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows, a reference to the Microsoft Excel 8.0 Object Library is needed.

  1. Select Tools, then References, and note that even if you had done a complete install of Microsoft Office 97 for Windows (or Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows) subsequent to installing Microsoft Excel for Windows (5.0x or 7.0x) completely, the Microsoft Excel 8.0 Object Library is not listed (although the object libraries for Microsoft Office 8.0, Microsoft Access 8.0, Microsoft Binder 8.0, Microsoft Graph 8.0, Microsoft PowerPoint 8.0, and Microsoft Word 8.0 are listed).
  2. Click Browse and navigate to Microsoft Office 97's OFFICE directory (typically C:\OFFICE97\OFFICE).
  3. Double-click EXCEL8.OLB and note the error:
    "Object library's language setting incompatible with current project"
  4. Click OK. Deselecting "Microsoft Excel 5.0 Object Library" and trying to deselect "Visual Basic for Applications" does not allow EXCEL8.OLB to be added. The latter attempt produces the error:
    "Can't remove control or reference: in use"

Additional query words: OLE object type library automation server registry GUID LCID

Keywords: kberrmsg kbbug kbinterop kbautomation kbpending KB170356


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