Troubleshooting the Installation of the Report Viewer for ActiveX

Applies to

Crystal Enterprise and Seagate Info

Synopsis

When you attempt to display a report on a client computer in a Microsoft Internet Explorer browser, you are prompted to download and install the ActiveX Viewer. However, after installing the Viewer, one of the following unexpected behaviors occurs:

A red 'X' displays in the top-left corner of the browser window.
An error message appears in the browser window.
A gray border displays in place of the viewer.
A blank browser window appears.
An empty, gray browser window appears.

Why does this behavior occur, and how can you resolve it?

Solution

This behavior may occur because of one of these reasons:

Incorrect configuration of the 'viewer' virtual directory on the website serving the reports.
Corrupted, unrecognizable, or older version of the ActiveX Viewer already installed on the client computer.

Incorrect viewer virtual directory configuration
To resolve the incorrect configuration of the viewer virtual directory (Windows 2000 and IIS 5):

Open the Internet Information Services console by going to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Internet Services Manager.
Expand the computer icon.
Double-click 'Default Web Site'.
Right-click the 'viewer' virtual directory, and click 'Properties'.
In the 'Execute Permissions' list, click 'None'.
Ensure that 'Read', 'Log Visits', and 'Index this directory' are the only check boxes selected. The remaining checkboxes should cleared.
Click 'OK' to close the Internet Information Service console.
Run the report again from the Internet Explorer browser.

Remove ActiveX Viewer
To remove a corrupted, unrecognizable, or older version of the ActiveX Viewer:

Right-click the Internet Explorer icon, and click 'Properties'.
Click the 'Settings' button.
Click the 'View Objects' button, right-click 'Crystal Report Viewer Control', and then click 'Remove'.
Click 'Yes' when prompted to remove the control.
Close the 'Downloaded Program Files' dialog box, click 'OK' on the 'Settings' dialog box, and then click 'OK' on the 'Internet Options' dialog box.
Search the computer for the following files and manually deregister them: CRViewer.dll
SwebRS.dll
SViewHLP.dll
ReportParameterDialog.dll
CSelexpt.ocx
XQViewer.dll
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Note:
Use the following steps to deregister these files:
- Search for the DLL file.
- On the 'Start' menu, click 'Run'.
- Type "regsvr32 \u" in the 'Run' box and then drag the DLL file to the 'Run' box. The contents of the 'Run' box look similar to the following:
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Make sure that the correct version of the ActiveXViewer.cab file is on the web server, and then try to view the report again. The new version of the ActiveX Viewer is downloaded from the web server
If the issue continues to persist on the client computer, browse to the ActiveXViewer.cab file that resides on the server from the client computer using a URL similar to the following:

HTTP:// /Viewer/ActiveXViewer/ActiveXViewer.cab

If you are prompted to download the file, then the communication path between the server and the client is working as expected. However, if you are not prompted to download this file, consult your Network Administrator for more information.