Source Code Is Not Displayed When You Click Source on the View Menu in Internet Explorer (306907)



The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 for Windows NT 4.0
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 for Windows NT 4.0
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 for Windows Millennium Edition
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 for Windows 98 Second Edition
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 for Windows 98 Second Edition
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 for Windows 98
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 for Windows 98
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 for Windows 95
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 for Windows 95
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 for Windows 2000
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 for Windows 2000
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6 for Windows XP
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6 for Windows 2000
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6 for Windows NT 4.0
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6 for Windows Millennium Edition
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6 for Windows 98 Second Edition
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6 for Windows 98

This article was previously published under Q306907

SYMPTOMS

When you click Source on the View, right-click menus, or you click the Edit button on the toolbar in Microsoft Internet Explorer to view the source code of a Web page, the source code file may not appear as expected.

NOTE: The source code file is the code used to build the Web page. Open this file in Notepad from your Temporary Internet Files folder when you use the Source command in Internet Explorer. If you do not have an HTML editor installed, open this file in Notepad when you click the Edit button on the toolbar in Internet Explorer.

CAUSE

This behavior may occur if there are too many files in the Temporary Internet Files folder or if Notepad.exe is missing or damaged.

On some operating systems, this issue may also be caused by the following additional issues.

Windows NT 4.0

  • Your Cookies folder is located on an NTFS file system partition and you do not have at least Change permissions for the Cookies folder.For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    203592 Cannot View Source Code for Web Pages

  • The TMP environment variable is not valid.For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    179829 Cannot View HTML Source Code for Web Pages in Internet Explorer

Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows NT 4.0

  • Notepad.exe is missing or damaged.
For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

154168 Cannot View Source in Internet Explorer

NOTE: Notepad.exe is a protected operating system file in Windows Millennium (Me), Windows 2000, and Windows XP. If Notepad.exe is missing or damaged, it can be replaced automatically by these operating system.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, delete all of the files in the Temporary Internet Files folder.

To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Start Internet Explorer.
  2. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
  3. Under Temporary Internet files, click Delete Files.
  4. When the confirmation message appears, click OK two times.
For additional information about deleting files in the Temporary Internet Files folder, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

260897 How to Delete the Contents of the Temporary Internet Files Folder


Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:12/5/2003
Keywords:kbprb kbui KB306907