Microsoft KB Archive/907291

= Question marks unexpectedly appear instead of localized characters when you use the Microsoft Visual Studio =

Article ID: 907291

Article Last Modified on 2/27/2006

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition
 * Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 Professional Edition
 * Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 Enterprise Architect
 * Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2002 Enterprise Developer
 * Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 Academic Edition
 * Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2002 Professional Edition
 * Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2002 Enterprise Architect
 * Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 Enterprise Developer

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SYMPTOMS
When you use the Microsoft Visual Studio external ATL/MFC Trace Tool, question marks (&quot;?&quot;) unexpectedly appear instead of localized characters.



CAUSE
This problem occurs because the ATL/MFC Trace Tool does not support Unicode characters. When the default Microsoft operating system ANSI codepage does not match the codepage that is required for the ATL/MFC Trace Tool, Unicode characters appear as question marks (&quot;?&quot;).



WORKAROUND
To work around this problem, install the AppLocale utility. Then, use the AppLocate utility to configure the ATL/MFC Trace Tool.

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:

Download the Apploc.msi package now. Release Date: June 14, 2004

For more information about how to download Microsoft support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

119591 How to obtain Microsoft support files from online services

Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.

To install the AppLocale utility, follow these steps:
 * 1) In the folder where you downloaded the AppLocale utility installation file, double-click Apploc.msi to start the AppLocale Installation Wizard.
 * 2) Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation.

To configure the ATL/MFC Trace Tool, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Use the AppLocale interface
Directly configure the ATL/MFC Trace Tool by using the AppLocale interface. To do this, follow these steps:  Examine the default configuration of the ATL/MFC Trace Tool. To do this, follow these steps:  Start Microsoft Visual Studio. On the Tools menu, click External Tools. Click ATL/MFC &Trace Tool. Make a note of the contents of the Command box and the Arguments box. </li> Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Microsoft AppLocale, and then click AppLocale.</li> Click Next.</li> On the Locate The Application page, click Launch an application.</li> Click Browse to locate the ATL/MFC Trace Tool executable file, and then click OK.</li> In the Arguments box, specify the arguments that you noted in step 1d, and then click Next.</li> Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the wizard.</li></ol>

Method 2: Configure Visual Studio
Configure Visual Studio to use the AppLocale utility. To do this, follow these steps:
 * 1) Start Visual Studio.
 * 2) On the Tools menu, click External Tools.
 * 3) In the External Tools dialog box, click Add.
 * 4) In the Command box, type %SystemRoot%\AppPatch\apploc.exe.
 * 5) In the Arguments box, type the ATL/MFC Trace Tools executable path, file name, and any required arguments. To find this information, examine the default ATL/MFC Trace Tool configuration. Separate the path and the arguments by using a blank space, and separately enclose both the path and the arguments in quotation marks.
 * 6) In the Initial Directory box, type $(TargetDir), and then click OK.

<div class="status_section">

STATUS
This behavior is by design.

<div class="moreinformation_section">

MORE INFORMATION
The Microsoft AppLocale utility is a temporary solution to limitations with some non-Unicode applications. These limitations are caused by non-Unicode applications that are running on the Unicode (UTF-16)-based Microsoft Windows XP. AppLocale detects the language of the non-Unicode application and then simulates a corresponding system locale for code-page conversions to and from Unicode. You can use the AppLocate utility to configure the following ANSI-based tools:
 * ActiveX Control Test Container
 * Error Lookup
 * ATL/MFC Trace Tool
 * Spy ++
 * ISAPI Web Debug Tool

For more information about the AppLocale utility, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/tools/apploc.mspx

Additional query words: Unicode Localization question marks ATL/MFC Trace Tool codepage AppLocale Globalization

Keywords: kbtshoot kbnofix kblocalization kbprb atdownload KB907291

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