Ruminations from the Expression Web support team https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/xwebsupport/feed.xml Wed, 17 Apr 2019 03:28:56 GMT en-US hourly 1 New Fix for Licensing and Activation Issues with Expression Web 4 https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/xwebsupport/new-fix-for-licensing-and-activation-issues-with-expression-web-4 Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:23:40 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/xwebsupport/2011/11/03/new-fix-for-licensing-and-activation-issues-with-expression-web-4/ We have just released a fix for licensing and activation issues with Expression Web 4. Symptoms of licensing and/or activation issues include:

  • Expression Web 4 reverts to trial mode.
  • You receive a message that states that the product key is invalid.
  • The product key is not accepted during the Expression Web 4 installation process.
  • You receive a message that states that Expression Web 4 was already activated with the product key.

If you are seeing symptoms such as this, the fix we have released should resolve your issue. You can find details and a download link here:

https://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-US;2635101

To download the fix, click the "View and request hotfix downloads" hyperlink at the beginning of the article.

Please note that this fix is only for Expression Web 4. If you are encountering a licensing or activation issue with another Expression Studio product, you will need to open a support case with Microsoft to get that issue resolved.

If you download the patch and you receive an error that Web_en.msi could not be located, please download the "FullFile" version of the fix and install it on top of your existing installation. This will upgrade your existing installation of Expression Web 4 to SP2a which includes the fix.

]]> Causes for Slow Performance and Hangs in Expression Web https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/xwebsupport/causes-for-slow-performance-and-hangs-in-expression-web Fri, 22 Apr 2011 10:01:27 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/xwebsupport/2011/04/22/causes-for-slow-performance-and-hangs-in-expression-web/ One of the most common causes for slow performance in Expression Web is network latency while remotely authoring a site. For example, if you are editing your site live using an HTTP or FTP path, the performance of Expression Web while doing so is heavily reliant on the speed of the connection between you and your web server. Your Internet connection may be plenty fast, but if the connection to your hosting company is slow, editing in Expression Web will be slow. To resolve this kind of problem, you should edit your site using a local, disk-based copy and then publish changes to the server periodically.

Expression Web can also perform slowly if your graphic card’s drivers aren’t up to date. Expression Web uses a technology called Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) to display the user interface. WPF relies on hardware acceleration in your graphics card for optimized performance, and if the drivers you are using aren’t updated, you may encounter performance problems. Make sure that you update your drivers through Windows Update or from your graphics card manufacturer.

Finally, we’ve recently discovered a bug in Expression Web that can cause poor performance when you have CSS elements that use the clear property and there are no CSS floats on the page. To work around this issue, always make sure that there is at least one element using the CSS float property if you are using the clear property.

]]> Causes for Expression Web Crashing https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/xwebsupport/causes-for-expression-web-crashing Fri, 22 Apr 2011 09:41:54 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/xwebsupport/2011/04/22/causes-for-expression-web-crashing/ There are a few known causes for Expression Web crashes. If you start Expression Web and you see a message telling you that it’s encountered a problem and needs to close, it’s possible that one of the issues below may be causing the problem.

Kaspersky Antivirus

Earlier versions of Kaspersky antivirus interacted with jscript.dll in such a way that caused a crash when starting Expression Web 4. To resolve this problem, make sure that you have the latest version of Kaspersky Antivirus installed from the Kaspersky site.

Add-in Failures

If an Expression Web add-in crashes, it can cause a crash in Expression Web. In such cases, Expression Web will launch on safe mode after the crash. If the safe mode launch succeeds, it’s likely that the crash was caused by an add-in installed in Expression Web. To resolve such issues, uninstall the add-in and contact the add-in vendor for an update.

“Common” Folder

If there is a folder named “Common” at one level above the installation folder for Expression Studio (e.g. c:\Program Files\Common), it will cause a crash in Expression Web on launch. To resolve this issue, remove or rename the “Common” folder.

Incorrectly Registered jscript.dll

Expression Web 4 includes a new add-in architecture that allows for the creation of JavaScript add-ins. If JavaScript isn’t correctly registered on your system, Expression Web 4 may crash on startup when it attempts to enumerate the add-ins that are installed.

To correct this problem, ensure that jscript.dll is correctly registered by running regsvr32 using one of the following command lines.

For 32-bit Operating Systems:

regsvr32 c:\windows\system32\jscript.dll

For 64-bit Operating Systems:

regsvr32 c:\windows\syswow64\jscript.dll

]]> Licensing and Activation Problems with Expression Web 3 or 4 https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/xwebsupport/licensing-and-activation-problems-with-expression-web-3-or-4 Fri, 22 Apr 2011 07:05:17 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/xwebsupport/2011/04/22/licensing-and-activation-problems-with-expression-web-3-or-4/ Some customers have experienced problems when entering a product key or when activating Expression Web 3 or 4. This problem may have one of the following symptoms.

  • You see an error that says “The licensing didn’t start properly (c004E01E).”
  • A valid product key is not accepted by the installation or by the software.
  • A fully licensed product reverts to a trial version at random.
  • Licensing errors occur during install or activation.

If you are experiencing the error in the first bullet, you should run the Fix It in KB article 960480. This issue is due to an invalid Registry key, and the Fix It in the article will resolve the issue. Note that you must reboot your computer after running the Fix It.

If you are experiencing any one of the other symptoms, or if you are seeing a licensing or activation error not outlined here, you may have a corrupt license store. In these cases, you will need Microsoft support to resolve the problem for you. You can do that by browsing to https://support.microsoft.com and clicking the link at the bottom of the page that says "Contact a Support Professional by Email, Online or Phone."

There is no charge for cases related to licensing errors and activation errors. You will have to provide a credit card number to open a case, but no charges will be applied to that card.

If you can uninstall all Expression products prior to calling in for support, it will save time during the support call.

]]> Resources for Expression Web Users https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/xwebsupport/resources-for-expression-web-users Fri, 14 May 2010 07:42:00 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/xwebsupport/2010/05/14/resources-for-expression-web-users/ I’m often contacted by frustrated Expression Web users, both those new to Expression Web and those who are moving from FrontPage, who are struggling to figure out how to accomplish seemingly simple tasks such as formatting page elements and arranging page content. In almost all cases, the cause for frustration is that these users are not familiar with current methods of website design.

Is Expression Web really the “new” version of FrontPage?

A few years ago, we stopped development on Microsoft FrontPage and released the first version of Expression Web. As a result of that timing, many FrontPage users looked at Expression Web as merely a renamed version of FrontPage. That’s not the case. The fact is that website design has evolved far beyond FrontPage, and as a side-effect, the knowledge required to design modern websites has evolved as well. In other words, Expression Web is really not the new FrontPage.

Today’s website designers, whether using Expression Web or another design application, are required to have a knowledge of many technologies. CSS, XHTML, and basic JavaScript are an absolute must, and among those, the one that throws most Expression Web newcomers for a loop is CSS. Trust me. If you don’t know CSS, designing a website in Expression Web will be a frustrating endeavor.

With all of this in mind, I asked our MVP community to recommend some resources to help Expression Web users get up to speed with modern website design technologies. It’s our hope that these resources will help you to get the most out of Expression Web.

Official Microsoft Resources

Internet Explorer Development Center

A wealth of information on web design with a focus on Internet Explorer.

Official Expression Web Site

There are plenty of articles on website design on the official Expression Web site.

Expression Web and SuperPreview Forum

Frequented by web designers, Microsoft MVPs, and Microsoft employees, the forum is a great place to ask questions and get help.

Third-Party Resources

Note: Microsoft does not endorse any of the resources listed below.

Basic Website with Expression Web Video

Cheryl D. Wise, MVP for Expression Web, has a 1.5 hour video tutorial on basic website design that’s a great introduction. Cheryl also provides sample files for download.

W3Schools

Free tutorials on all aspects of web design.

Veign Resources

Chris Hanscom, MVP for Expression Web, offers a wide assortment of resources.

CSS 2 Quick Reference Guide

CSS 3 Quick Reference Guide

Color Quick Reference Guide

Website Development Center

WebReference.com

A wide assortment of topics on web design and programming.

Smashing Magazine’s CSS Layout Series

This two-part series provides a wealth of information on creating website layouts using CSS.

SitePoint Reference

SitePoint’s web design reference is a quick way to learn about HTML, JavaScript, and CSS.

HTML Dog HTML Tutorial

HTML Dog’s tutorial is designed as a beginner’s tutorial, but it’s useful for anyone wanting to brush up on HTML.

HTML Dog CSS Tutorial

The companion tutorial to HTML Dog’s HTML tutorial.

CssDog.com

CssDog.com also offers tutorials on CSS, HTML, JavaScript, and more.

Have a Recommendation?

I plan on adding to this post as I find other resources, but if you have a favorite resource that I’ve left off, please feel free to add a comment!

Jim

]]> Expression Web 3 Service Pack 2 Available https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/xwebsupport/expression-web-3-service-pack-2-available Wed, 07 Apr 2010 08:14:10 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/xwebsupport/2010/04/07/expression-web-3-service-pack-2-available/ Service pack 2 for Expression Web 3 is now available. You can find all the details (including a download link) here.

Here is a recap of what’s included.

Issues resolved in this service pack

  • When editing PHP, files you may have been asked to update related hyperlinks on the page. If you did so, some PHP tags may have been removed. PHP tags are no longer removed when you update related hyperlinks.
  • When you renamed a PDF file from the Folder List, the PDF file became corrupted and could not be opened. PDF files now save normally.
  • Expression Web 3 would crash if the list-style-image property was used in a CSS file. Using the list-style-image property in a CSS file no longer causes Expression Web to crash.
  • SuperPreview sometimes crashed while launching because of a problem that occurred when locating Firefox on your computer. SuperPreview no longer crashes while locating Firefox.

Improvements provided by this service pack

SuperPreview now supports Firefox 3.6. If Firefox 3.6 is installed on your computer, then it should be available in SuperPreview.

]]> Get Expression Web 4 (or Expression Studio 4) Free! https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/xwebsupport/get-expression-web-4-or-expression-studio-4-free Thu, 01 Apr 2010 07:29:46 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/xwebsupport/2010/04/01/get-expression-web-4-or-expression-studio-4-free/ We recently announced that existing users of Expression Web 3 will get Expression Web 4 at no charge when it’s available. Existing users of Expression Studio 3 will receive version 4 at no charge. See https://www.microsoft.com/expression/products/Upgrade.aspx for more information.

Availability of version 4 has not yet been announced, but this is great news for Expression Web 3 users!

]]> Expression Web 3 crashes during install – System.OutofMemoryException https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/xwebsupport/expression-web-3-crashes-during-install-system-outofmemoryexception Wed, 13 Jan 2010 13:02:09 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/xwebsupport/2010/01/13/expression-web-3-crashes-during-install-system-outofmemoryexception/ Note: This blog entry replaces a previous blog entry which examined the same issue – this blog has been updated with new information and a new workaround.

Here’s another installation crash issue. The install of Expression Web 3 will be humming right along when all of a sudden you get the generic error saying “Expression Web 3 has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry videocardfor the inconvenience.” This problem has only been seen on Windows XP operating  systems.

What separates this crash apart from the others is what the error report contains. Click the link that says “Click to see what this error report contains”. It should come up with some data. Check to see if your data looks like the following:

EventType : clr20r3     P1 : xsetup.exe     P2 : 3.0.1061.0     P3 : 4a5e53dc
P4 : xsetup     P5 : 3.0.1061.0     P6 : 4a5e53dc     P7 : 1a46     P8 : 3f
P9 : system.outofmemoryexception

We now know that this problem is caused by the way one or more of the WPF elements in the Expression Web 3 setup program interact with display adapter drivers – usually older or out-of-date display adapter drivers.

You can work around the problem by disabling hardware acceleration and then performing the install of Expression Web 3.

To disable hardware acceleration, do the following:

1. Right click on the Desktop then left click Properties > Settings tab > Advanced button > Troubleshooting tab.

2. Click and drag the Hardware Acceleration slider from its original maximum position to the lowest possible. Then launch the Expression Web 3 setup again.

Once the install is finished, you can re-enable hardware acceleration by reversing the process above. You may also want to check to make sure you have the latest, most up-to-date drivers from your video card manufacturer by visiting their web site.

Many thanks for Jim Cheshire for going through crash dumps on this issue.

Will Buffington

]]> “Cannot Find DependencyProperty or PropertyInfo for Property named ‘Effect’” error during xWeb3 Setup https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/xwebsupport/cannot-find-dependencyproperty-or-propertyinfo-for-property-named-effect-error-during-xweb3-setup Wed, 06 Jan 2010 09:06:37 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/xwebsupport/2010/01/06/cannot-find-dependencyproperty-or-propertyinfo-for-property-named-effect-error-during-xweb3-setup/ During the installation of Expression Web 3, you may encounter the following error:

Exception has been thrown by the target of an invocation.Cannot find DependencyProperty or PropertyInfo for property named ‘Effect’. Property names are case sensitive. Error at object ‘LayoutRoot’ in markup file ‘XSetupUI;component/initializationwindow.xaml’.

Clicking the OK button takes you out of the installation and there you are – no Expression Web 3 installed on the machine and you feeling pretty frustrated. What blocksdoes that error even mean anyway?

In a nutshell, that error means you have a bad install of the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 on the machine, which is required for both the setup of Expression Web 3 and the program itself to run. To resolve it, do the following:

If you are running Windows XP or Windows Vista:

1. Click START > Control Panel > Programs and Features

2. Locate “Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1” in the list. Right click it and left click on “Uninstall”. This should uninstall the Framework.

3. Please reinstall the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 – you can download and install it from the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 Download Page

4. Once the reinstall of the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 is finished, try installing Expression Web 3 again.

If you are running Windows 7:

1.    Click START > Control Panel and on the left, click “Turn Windows Features on or off” and when the “Windows Features” menu comes up, uncheck the main box for Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5.1 and then click OK. It will take a few moments to make the changes.

2.    Then go back to “Turn Windows Features on or off” and when the “Windows Features” menu comes up, select the main box for Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5.1. It will not have a check – it should have a filled in box - and then click OK. It will take a few moments to make the changes. Afterward, try installing Expression Web 3 again.

]]> “Setup.exe is not a valid win32 application” https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/xwebsupport/setup-exe-is-not-a-valid-win32-application Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:16:39 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/xwebsupport/2009/12/15/setup-exe-is-not-a-valid-win32-application/ Say what? After inserting what looks to be a perfectly good DVD disc into the reader and trying to run the install for Expression Web 3, you see the error message to the left on the screen.

image

What does it mean? Is it some kind of secret Microsoft code? Not really. But it does indicate a problem exists, as when you click OK the setup application never runs. You typically see this error message when you have downloaded an application (although for whatever reason you didn’t download the entire application) and attempt to run it. Having only a piece of the application, the program can’t run. But in this case, the application is on a DVD disc that you most likely purchased – so why would you be seeing an error like this?

Although we haven’t definitively identified the cause of the problem, we believe the issue has something to do with the reading laser inside of the DVD-ROM drive itself and this disc. The disc itself is not damaged, as you can most likely take it to another machine and run the setup from there with no problem, provided that the DVD-ROM reader isn’t the same, running the same firmware and driver versions.

Fear not, for there is a workaround to this problem!

Download the trial version of Expression Web 3. After the trial is installed, you will be prompted to enter the product key the first time you run it or to continue using the trial 60-day license. If you have used a trial of Expression Web 3 on this machine before you may be asked to enter the product key during installation. Since you bought the application, just use the product key that accompanied the Expression Web 3 DVD to unlock the full version from the trial.

The trial can be downloaded from: https://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0a73a3a7-3e06-4125-b3c6-f9c10387e9cc&displaylang=en

In addition, you can check the website of the manufacturer of your computer or DVD-ROM drive for a firmware update for the DVD-ROM drive, or contact your computer manufacturer's technical support assistance number and ask if a firmware update for the DVD-ROM drive exists.

Important Note: You should only apply firmware updates as directed by a support professional from your computer manufacturer's technical support department or firmware that specifically pertains to the make and model of the machine you have.

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