Microsoft KB Archive/119878

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How MOM Locates a Registered Application

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Q119878

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Office for Windows, versions 4.0, 4.2, 4.2-CD, 4.3, 4.3-CD

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SUMMARY
When you install the Microsoft Office Manager (MOM), some of the applications on the toolbar are added automatically. The following information discusses how the Microsoft Office Manager (MOM) toolbar in Microsoft Office locates a "registered" application, or an application that appears on the MOM toolbar by default when you install MOM.

Locating A Registered Application
MOM uses information in the REG.DAT file to determine the location of the applications on your computer. For Microsoft Access 1.x, Microsoft FoxPro versions earlier than 2.5b, Microsoft Publisher, and Microsoft Mail, applications that are not registered in the REG.DAT file, MOM checks the [Extensions] section of the WIN.INI file and uses the path information for the .MDB, .DBF (as long as the executable is FOXPROW.EXE), .PUB, and .MMF extensions respectively. MOM then registers this path information under the MSToolbar key in the REG.DAT file.

Learning Correct Location
If MOM cannot find a registered application because of incorrect, incomplete or missing information in the REG.DAT file, or the WIN.INI file, but the application is installed on the computer, MOM can "learn" its location. When you start the application by choosing the button on the MOM toolbar or choosing the application from the Microsoft Office menu, an error message is displayed asking you to start the application another way (for example, by using Program Manager or File Manager) and to then click the button or choose the menu item again. When you do this, the application is registered under the MSToolbar key in the REG.DAT file.

Finding The Most Current version
When you start a registered application, such as Microsoft Excel, by using the MOM toolbar, MOM searches for the most current version of this application before running it. MOM finds the most current version by searching for the CurVer key in the REG.DAT file, getting the information corresponding to that key and then using this information to locate the command line for the application.

Starting Different Versions Of An Application
When you start a version of an application that is different than the version that is registered as the current version in the REG.DAT file, and you then choose the registered application's button on the MOM toolbar, an entry is added to the MSToolbar section of the REG.DAT file indicating the path of the version of the application that is running.

Using MOM version 4.0, when you choose the application's button again from the toolbar during the same MOM session, the non-current version is started. However, if you close MOM, and then start it again, the current version of the application as registered in the REG.DAT file is started.

For example, if Microsoft Word 6.0 is installed, but you work in Microsoft Word 2.0, if you choose the Microsoft Word button from the MOM toolbar while Microsoft Word 2.0 is running, the Microsoft Word button on the MOM toolbar now starts Microsoft Word 2.0 instead of version 6.0 until you close MOM and start it again.

Note that using MOM versions 4.2 and 4.3, when you close the non-current version of the application (Microsoft Word 2.0), and then choose the application's button from the toolbar, the current version (Microsoft Word 6.0) is started.

For additional information, please see the following article(s) in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q115581 Error Choosing Microsoft Access 2.0 Button from MOM Toolbar

Q113620 Office: Changes in MOM 4.2 from MOM 4.0 Additional query words: 4.20-CD 4.30-CD winppt macppt

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