Microsoft KB Archive/303580

= Visio2002: Error Message When You Attempt to View a Shape's Properties: An Unsupported Operation Was Attempted =

Article ID: 303580

Article Last Modified on 7/27/2006

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Visio 2002 Professional Edition
 * Microsoft Visio Network Center
 * Microsoft Visio Enterprise Network Tools

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This article was previously published under Q303580





SYMPTOMS
In Microsoft Visio, when you right-click a device shape on your network diagram, and then click Properties to view its properties, you may receive the following ShapeProperties error message:

An unsupported operation was attempted.

When you click OK in response to this message, the Network Shape Properties dialog box is displayed. If you click any of the tabs in the Network Shape Properties dialog box, a blank page is displayed.



CAUSE
This behavior occurs if all of the following conditions are true, and take place in the order in which they are presented:
 * You install Microsoft Visio 2000 Enterprise.

-and-
 * You install Microsoft Visio 2002 and choose to keep the Visio 2000 installation.

-and-
 * You install Microsoft Visio Enterprise Network Tools for Visio 2002, and then install the AutoDiscovery and Layout solution.

-and-
 * You perform a network discovery, and then use the Add Devices command in Visio 2002 to add devices to your network diagram.

-and-
 * You right-click a shape on your diagram, and then click Properties to view its properties.

When you run Visio Enterprise Network Tools Setup, Setup removes the Visio 2000 Enterprise version of the AutoDiscovery and Layout solution before installing the Visio Enterprise Network Tools version of the AutoDiscovery and Layout solution. The Msflxgrd.ocx file is not registered correctly during this process. As a result, when you attempt to view the properties of a shape in your network diagram, you receive the error message described in the &quot;Symptoms&quot; section of this article.



RESOLUTION
To work around this issue, manually register the Msflxgrd.ocx file. To do this, follow these steps:  Quit Visio 2002 (if it is running).NOTE: Because there are several versions of Microsoft Windows, the following steps may be different on your computer. If they are, see your product documentation to complete these steps.

 Click Start, point to Search, and then click For Files or Folders. In the Search for files or folders named box, type the following line, and then click Search Now.

msflxgrd.ocx

 Make a note of the path to the file.

If you are running Microsoft Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition (SE), or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me), the file is located in the Windows\System folder.

If you are running Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, or Microsoft Windows 2000, the file is located in the Winnt\System32 folder. Click Start, and then click Run. In the Open box, type the following line, and then click OK

regsvr32 \msflxgrd.ocx

where  is the path that you noted in step 4.</li> Click OK in response to the &quot;DllRegisterServer in \Msflxgrd.ocx succeeded&quot; message.</li></ol>

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STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

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MORE INFORMATION
To resolve this issue, completely remove Visio 2000 Enterprise before you install Visio 2002 and Visio Enterprise Network Tools. This includes removing all Visio 2000 network diagramming solutions from your hard disk.

Although you are able to run multiple versions of Visio on the same computer, it is not possible to install and run multiple versions of Visio Enterprise Network Tools on the same computer. That is, you are able to install and use only either the network diagramming solutions in Visio 2000 Enterprise or the network diagramming solutions in Visio Enterprise Network Tools for Visio 2002. If you want to upgrade, you must remove the earlier version or allow Visio Enterprise Network Tools Setup to remove it for you.

For additional information about how to run multiple versions of Visio on the same computer, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

298947 How to Run Multiple Versions of Visio

For additional information about installing the AutoDiscovery and Layout solution in Visio Enterprise Network Tools when you have Visio 2000 Enterprise installed, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

300019 Visio2002: AutoDiscovery and Layout Solution in Visio 2000 Is Missing After You Install Visio Enterprise Network Tools

303618 Visio2002: &quot;OLE Automation&quot; Error Message When You Attempt to Add Devices to Your Network Diagram

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