OL2002: Troubleshooting Forms That Don't Run on Other Computers

This article describes troubleshooting tips that you can use when an Outlook forms solution works on your development computer, but does not work properly on another person's computer.

Use the following troubleshooting tips to solve problems with your programming solution.

VBScript Version

If your solution involves forms that use Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript), you may need to make sure that all computers are using the same version of VBScript that is used on your development computer. For example, if you used the With...End With construct with VBScript 5.x, the form will not work correctly on Outlook 98 computers unless VBScript 5.x has been installed on those computers, either directly or indirectly via another program.

For additional information about VBScript versions, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Controls

If your solution uses any controls, check to see if the controls are properly installed on all user computers. Are they the same version? Ideally, unless you are only using the "Forms 2.0" controls that are installed by Microsoft Office, you should require your users to run a setup program to make sure all of your controls are installed correctly. Both Visual Basic and Microsoft Office Developer include tools to create custom setup programs.

Permissions or User Rights

Make sure that any user experiencing problems has proper permissions or rights to use any public folders or other resources that your solution uses.

Send Form Definition with Item

If your solution sends forms from one user's computer to another, did you enable the "Send form definition with item" option on the form Property tab when in design mode? If not, you or the users must properly install the form so that it is available for the other users.

Did you use Rich Text Format (RTF)? Check the recipient's E-mail Properties and ensure that "Always send to this recipient in Microsoft Outlook rich-text format" is checked.

Mail Formats and Using Word as Your E-mail Editor

Outlook supports three types of mail formats: plain text, HTML, and Outlook Rich Text. In addition, you can choose whether or not to use Microsoft Word as your e-mail editor. If your solution is working with mail messages or the body of an item and does not work on another computer, you should investigate whether the problem is related to different default mail message formats or editors. To access these settings, click Tools, click Options, and then select the Mail Format tab.

Read Layout

Mail message and post forms have separate Compose and Read pages by default. If you want the form to have one view when it is created or read, turn off the Separate Read Layout setting on the Layout menu when the form is in design mode. Depending on the type of form, this setting may be on or off by default.

For additional information about available resources and answersto commonly asked questions about Microsoft Outlook solutions, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: