WD97: Can't Use Word 97 as Server for Word 6.0/95 Link

ID: Q168059

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word 97 for Windows
Microsoft Word for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c

SYMPTOMS

If you create a link to a Microsoft Word 6.x or Microsoft Word 7.x document, paste it into an MFC (Microsoft Foundation Class) OClient container, and then double-click the link on a computer that only has Word 97 installed, you may receive the following message:

   Cannot Start the Source Application For This Object

RESOLUTION

To correct this problem, install Microsoft Word 97 Service Release 1 (SR- 1).

To work around this problem, open the container application and the document on the computer that only has Microsoft Word 97, and reinsert the link to the Word document.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Word 97 for Windows. This problem was corrected in Microsoft Word 97 SR-1.

For additional information about SR-1, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q172475
   TITLE     : OFF97: How to Obtain and Install MS Office 97 SR-1

MORE INFORMATION

This problem occurs when pasting links to WordPad or any of the Microsoft Office applications, because WordPad and the Office applications are MFC OClient containers.

The Microsoft Foundation Class Library, a C++ Windows interface, is built on top of the C-language Windows application programming interface (API) to ensure long-term compatibility with the thousands of applications already written for Windows. MFC is a truly object-oriented interface designed with the following goals:

Significantly reduced effort for programming an application for Windows
Execution speed comparable to that of the C-language API
Minimum code size overhead
Ability to call any Windows C functions directly
Easier conversion of existing C applications to C++
Ability to leverage from the existing base of C-language Windows programming experience
True Windows API for C++ that effectively uses C++ language features

The core of the Microsoft Foundation Class library encapsulates a large portion of the Windows API in C++ form. Library classes represent windows, dialog boxes, device contexts, common GDI objects, and other standard Windows items. These classes provide a convenient C++ member function interface to the structures in Windows that they encapsulate. The Microsoft Foundation Class Library also supplies a layer of additional application functionality built on the C++ encapsulation of the Windows API. This layer is a working application framework for Windows that provides most of the common user interface expected of programs for Windows.

The single characteristic that sets the Microsoft Foundation Class Library apart from other class libraries for Windows is the close mapping to the Windows API written in the C language. You can generally mix calls to the class library freely with direct calls to the Windows API. However, the classes are not a complete replacement for that API. Developers must still occasionally make direct calls to some Windows functions (::GetSystemMetrics, for example). A Windows function is wrapped by a class member function only when there is a clear advantage to doing so.

REFERENCES

For more information about building solutions with the Microsoft Foundation Class, please see Microsoft Visual C++ Web site at the following location:

   http://www.microsoft.com/visualc

Keywords          : kbinterop
Version           : WINDOWS:6.0,6.0a,6.0c,7.0,7.0a,97
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbbug
Solution Type     : kbfix

Last Reviewed: December 17, 1998