Custom form reinstalls every OL session, for only some users

[Mike]

I've got a custom form installed in the Organizational Forms Library. For
most users the form works as expected--when a new version is published to
the OFL, the form is downloaded to the client the first time they open an
item with its custom message class. From then on, it's loaded from the
forms cache.

However, on at least one user's client (OL2003), the form is reinstalled
from the OFL every time Outlook starts. Once it installs the first time
(when the first custom item is opened), it seems to load the form from the
cache properly throughout that session, but once Outlook is closed and
opened again, it again goes to the OFL for the form. This would normally
not be too bad, but about once a week or so something goes wrong with the
install-from-OFL and this user gets the "custom form can't be installed"
message, which *is* bad. Clearing the cache resolves the bad install
problem until the next bad install.

I've double-checked that the user is an admin on his machine, and has write
access to the frmcache.dat file. I've tried the "clear cache" button in
OL2003 and deleting the frmcache.dat file with no success. I've also
removed the custom form from the OFL and re-installed it--still no luck.
Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Outlook 2003 definitely has forms cache problems. You might try deleting the
entire contents of the Forms subfolder, not just frmcache.dat. In the
meantime, you'll have to live with it until Microsoft fixes the problem.