WordArt: "Unable to launch or communicate with server" Error

ID: Q122188

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft WordArt, version 2.0
Microsoft Publisher for Windows, versions 2.0, 2.0a
Microsoft Publisher for Windows 95, version 3.0
Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c

SYMPTOMS

You receive the following error message when you try to use Microsoft WordArt from Publisher:

     Unable to launch or communicate with server application

Other related symptoms will be:

     1. WordArt will not launch from any application.

     2. The WordArt2.Reg file will contain the <Windows Dir>
        place holder.

CAUSE

This problem may occur because you installed Microsoft Publisher on a computer with Word 6.0 for Windows already installed (either as a stand- alone or as part of the Microsoft Office). When you installed Word, Word Setup may have placed an incomplete WordArt 2.0 registration file in the WORDART directory; the registration file contains only the <windows dir> place holder instead of the actual path to the WordArt location.

WORKAROUNDS

To correct the problem, re-register WordArt so that the OLE applications can correctly locate and start the OLE source program for WordArt 2.0, WORDART2.EXE. For more information about registration procedures, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q107437
   TITLE     : WordArt 2.0 Does Not Auto-Register Itself in REG.DAT

If the normal re-registering procedures do not correctly register WordArt and you continue to get the "Cannot launch..." error when you try to use WordArt, try either of the following two methods:

Method 1:

     Edit the WORDART2.REG file to correct the path information for
     WordArt 2.0:

     a. In File Manager, click once on the WORDART2.REG file, which is
        located in the <WINDOWS>\MSAPPS\WORDART subdirectory, to
        select it.

     b. From the File menu, choose Run.

     c. In the Command Line box, move the insertion point to the
        beginning of the textbox type "notepad" (without the quotation
        marks), followed by a space. Choose OK.

        This will start Notepad and open the WORDART2.REG file.

     d. Look at the fourth and eighth lines in the file. If these
        lines have "<windows dir>" (without the quotation marks) after
        the equals sign, then you must replace the placeholder with
        the actual path to the Windows directory.

        For example, if the fourth line (after the "server = ") reads

           <windows dir>\MSAPPS\WORDART\WordArt2.exe

        then you should replace the line with (assuming Windows is
        installed on drive C drive in a directory called Windows):

           C:\WINDOWS\MSAPPS\WORDART\WordArt2.exe

     e. Save the changes and exit Notepad.

     f. In File Manager, double-click the WORDART2.REG file. If you
        receive the expected message about information being
        successfully re-registered, you can now use WordArt from
        within Publisher.

Method 2:

     Delete the WORDART2.REG file and reinstall Publisher.

Method 3: (For Publisher 95 Only)

     Double click on the Wrdart32.exe file located in
     c:\Program File\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Wordart
     to register the 32-bit version of WordArt that ships
     with Publisher 95.

Additional query words: 2.00 2.00a mspub word6 2.00a 3.00 pub3

Keywords          : kberrmsg kbinterop kbole kbtool kbdta
Version           : windows:2.0,2.0a,3.0
Platform          : WINDOWS
Hardware          : x86
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: March 27, 1998