Article ID: 291380 - Last Review: June 2, 2005 - Revision: 3.3

FIX: You may receive several error messages regarding the redefinition of XML interfaces when you compile an Interface Definition Language (.idl) file in Visual C++ 6.0

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This article was previously published under Q291380
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SYMPTOMS

When you compile an Interface Definition Language (.idl) file which imports the Msxml2.idl file, you may receive several error messages regarding the redefinition of XML interfaces:
D:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\VC98\INCLUDE\msxml.idl(50) : error MIDL2003 : redefinition : XMLELEMTYPE_ELEMENT

D:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\VC98\INCLUDE\msxml.idl(51) : error MIDL2003 : redefinition : XMLELEMTYPE_TEXT

D:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\VC98\INCLUDE\msxml.idl(52) : error MIDL2003 : redefinition : XMLELEMTYPE_COMMENT

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CAUSE

One of the other files that your .idl file imports, such as Ocild.idl, implicitly imports the Msxml.idl file, which causes duplication and results in the redefinition errors.
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RESOLUTION

The Msxml2.idl file that ships with the Microsoft XML (MSXML) 3.0 Service Pack 1 Software Development Kit (SDK) resolves the problem when it is used with the Msxml.idl file that shipped with Visual C++ 6.0 (dated April 1998). To avoid the error, you just need to add the IMPORTED_MSXML macro as an option with the Microsoft Interface Definition Language (MIDL) compiler; for example:
midl /D IMPORTED_MSXML test.idl
NOTE: The fix in MSXML 3.0 SP1 does not resolve the redefinition problem that exists for the Msxml.idl that comes with the Windows Platform SDK that is dated February 2000.

You also need to have the MIDL Compiler version 5.03.0280. If you do not have it, you will receive the following error message:
midl\oleaut32.dll : error MIDL2020 : error generating type library : AddImplType failed : IXMLDOMDocument
You can download the latest Platform SDK from the following Microsoft Web site:
http://www.microsoft.com/msdownload/platformsdk/sdkupdate (http://www.microsoft.com/msdownload/platformsdk/sdkupdate)
To set up the Platform SDK, select Custom installation, then open the Tools section and select Platform SDK Tools. After you install this, MSDEV uses the new version of MIDL.
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STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

This bug was corrected in Microsoft XML 3.0 Service Pack 1 SDK.

For additional information on other fixes included in Microsoft XML 3.0 Service Pack 1, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
292935  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/292935/EN-US/ ) INFO: List of Issues Fixed in Microsoft XML 3.0 Service Pack 1
For the latest information and downloads of MSXML, refer to the following MSDN Web site at:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/xml/default.asp (http://msdn.microsoft.com/xml/default.asp)
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MORE INFORMATION

To reproduce this problem, add the following code to your .idl file and then compile it using the MIDL compiler: 
import "msxml2.idl";
import "oaidl.idl";
import "ocidl.idl";
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APPLIES TO
  • Microsoft XML Parser 3.0
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 Enterprise Edition
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 Professional Edition
  • Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Learning Edition 6.0
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Keywords: 
kberrmsg kbqfe kbbug kbfix kbmsxml300sp1fix kbmsxmlnosweep KB291380
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