Deleting .frx File Causes Visual Basic to Exit Abnormally

• Standard, Professional, and Enterprise Editions of Microsoft Visual Basic for Windows, 32-bit, version 4.0

SUMMARY

If you delete the .frx file of a form containing a ListView control that has at least two column headers, you will encounter the following error when attempting to reload the project in the Visual Basic design environment.

   This program has performed an illegal operation
   and will be shut down.

   If the problem persists, contact the program
   vendor.

MORE INFORMATION

Visual Basic stores binary information vital to the functionality of the form and its child controls in the .frx files.

The .frx files should never be deleted or modified manually.

Steps to Reproduce the Problem

1. Start Visual Basic 4.0 (32-bit) or on the File menu, click New Project (ALT, N, P) if Visual Basic is already running. Form1 is created by default.

2. Add a ListView control to Form1.

3. Right click the ListView control, click the Column Headers tab. Insert at least two column headers. Click OK to exit the dialog box.

4. Save the project.

5. In the File Manager (on Windows NT) or the Explorer (on Windows 95) delete the .frx file for Form1.

6. Reopen the project in Visual Basic 4.0 (32-bit).

7. Open Form1, by double-clicking it in the Project window. You will receive the following warning:

         Errors during load. Refer to '<form path>\<form file>.log' for
         details.
   

8. Close Form1. As a result, an application error occurs and Visual Basic terminates.

RESOLUTION

The .frx files should never be deleted or modified manually. Deleting or modifying the .frx file results in Visual Basic acting unpredictably when accessing the associated form.