XL97: "System Error &H80070057" Message Opening Add-In (171217)

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel 97, if you open an add-in that was created in an earlier version of Microsoft Excel, you may receive the following error message:

Microsoft Visual Basic
System Error &H80070057 (-2147024809). The parameter is incorrect.

If you click OK, and then switch to the Visual Basic Editor, you may be able to view the project of the add-in, including all of the Visual Basic modules it contains. As a result, code within the add-in is not secure; that is, it can be viewed by other users.

CAUSE

These problems may occur if the following conditions are true:

You name one or more of the modules in the source workbook with a name that includes extended characters, for example an "e" with an acute or grave accent, before you create the add-in. -and-
You remove the extended characters from the names of the modules. -and-
You create the add-in after you remove the extended characters from the names of the modules.

For example, if a module in the source workbook is named "Cartier", with an acute accent over the "e," and then is renamed to "Cartier" without an accent, the problem occurs if you then create the add-in and open it in Microsoft Excel 97.

NOTE: The problem does not occur if the names of the modules contain the extended characters when you create the add-in. For the problem to occur, the extended characters must be removed from the names of the modules.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, do not use extended characters in module names in Microsoft Excel. You can also resolve the second problem by installing Microsoft Excel 97 Service Release 1 (SR-1).

If the problem is already occurring, you may be able to prevent it by recreating the add-in. To do this, you must have access to the source workbook from which the add-in was created. After you open the source workbook, copy the code from any modules with names with extended characters, paste the code into new modules, and delete the original modules. Note that if you rename one of the new modules to use the same name as the deleted modules, the problem may still occur.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

The first problem described in the "Symptoms" section occurs in both Microsoft Excel 97 and Microsoft Excel 97 Service Release 1 (SR-1).

The second problem was corrected in Microsoft Excel 97 SR-1.

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

172475 OFF97: How to Obtain and Install MS Office 97 SR-1

MORE INFORMATION

When you create an add-in in earlier versions of Microsoft Excel, the project in the add-in is automatically locked and protected from view. This prevents others from viewing the code in the add-in.

However, if the names of any of the modules in the add-in contained extended characters before the add-in was created, you may receive the error message described in this article, and the project in the add-in may be visible in the Visual Basic Editor.