You cannot open a Business Contact record in Outlook 2003 (836558)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 with Business Contact Manager

SYMPTOMS

When you try to open a Business Contact record from the Business Contact folder or from an account in Microsoft Business Contact Manager in Microsoft Office Outlook 2003, you may receive the following error message:
The custom form could not be opened. Outlook will use an Outlook form instead.
The form required to display this message could not be opened.

If you click OK in the error message, the contact record appears, and you may receive the following error message:
Array index out of bounds.

You may find that some Business Contact Manager features, such as the Account History feature, are missing from the Business Contact record that appears on the screen. The Business Contact record that appears may be similar to a typical Microsoft Outlook contact record.

CAUSE

This problem may occur if the Business Contact Manager form that you are trying to open is corrupted or if the user profile is corrupted.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, use one of the following methods:
  • Clear the Custom Forms cache in Outlook 2003. To do so, follow these steps:
    1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
    2. On the Other tab, click Advanced Options.
    3. In the Advanced Options window, click Custom Forms.
    4. In the Custom Forms window, click Manage Forms.
    5. In the Forms Manager window, click Clear Cache.
    6. Click Close.
  • Rename the .dat files in Outlook 2003. To do so, follow these steps.

    Note Outlook 2003 automatically replaces the Extend.dat data file, the Outcmd.dat data file, and the Frmcache.dat data file if these files are missing.
    1. Quit all programs.
    2. Click Start, and then click Search.
    3. Click All files and folders.
    4. In the All or part of the file name box, type extend.dat,outcmd.dat,frmcache.dat.
    5. In the Look in box, click Local Hard Drives.
    6. Click More advanced options.
    7. Click to select the Search hidden files and folders check box.
    8. Click Search to search for the files.

      By default, these files are located in the following folders, where drive is the drive where Microsoft Windows is installed:

      File NameDefault Location
      Outcmd.datdrive:\Documents and Settings\user\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
      Extend.dat drive:\Documents and Settings\user\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
      Frmcache.dat drive:\Documents and Settings\user\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\FORMS

    9. For each file that appears in the Search Results dialog box, right-click the file, click Rename, type a new name for the file (for example, type extend.old), and then press ENTER.
    10. Close the Search Results dialog box.
    11. Restart Outlook 2003.

    Note When you restart Outlook 2003, it will create a new Frmcache.dat file with information about the cached forms.
  • Reinstall the custom form by running the Business Database in Maintenance mode. To do so, follow these steps:
    1. On the File menu, point to Business Database.
    2. Click Maintenance.
    3. In the Database Maintenance window, click Start.
  • Create a new user profile and then change the new profile to use the existing personal folders (.pst) file. To do so, follow these steps:
    1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
    2. If you are not in Classic view, click Switch to Classic View, and then double-click Mail.
    3. Click Show Profiles.
    4. Click Prompt for a profile to be used, and then click Add.
    5. In the Profile Name box, type a descriptive name for the new profile, and then click OK.
    6. Click Add a new e-mail account, and then click Next.
    7. Click the appropriate server type for your new e-mail account, and then click Next.
    8. Follow the instructions that appear on the screen, and then click Finish.
    9. Click OK.

      Note You can change the new profile to use the old .pst file, or import the contents of the old .pst file to the new .pst file. Save the old .pst file before you change the new profile to use this .pst file.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:7/27/2006
Keywords:kbpending kberrmsg kbprb KB836558 kbAudEndUser
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