Another week, another custom form bug. This time it's the font used in the first field on a custom form: it's tiny. The field properties look fine, with the font size is set to a reasonable size, but the text is very small and unreadable.
This is fixed in the April 8 2014 updates for Office 2013.
I've only seen it forms created in older versions of Outlook and opened in Outlook 2013, but not every form created in older versions of Outlook is affected.
This comment from a user describes the problem perfectly:
I created a custom Contacts form some time ago. It worked fine until recently. Now the first field in the form displays in a very tiny font. I checked the properties of the field, and the font and font size are correct and furthermore are the same font and font size as in all the other fields in the form, which display correctly. I tried resetting the font and font size a number of ways, but the field still displays in a very small size.
Microsoft is looikng into the problem, however, Dave from SalesOutlook.com offers this solution, while we wait for an official fix:
Cause:
Microsoft released an update to RICHED20.DLL which is a Microsoft Word component that caused this issue.Resolution:
Back-level the file RICHED20.DLL to: (You can obtain it from any PC that is working.)
RICHED20.DLL is in the Microsoft Shared folder. In the Click to Run installs that most Office 2013 users have, RICHED20.DLL is located at
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office 15\root\vfs\ProgramFilesCommonX86\Microsoft Shared\OFFICE15
Volume licensed MSI installations will have RICHED20.DLL at
C:\Program Files\Common Files\microsoft shared\OFFICE15
Rename RICHED20.DLL to RICHED20.DLL-15 (Approve the dialogs that come up) and copy an earlier version of the RICHED20.DLL to the folder. You'll need to restart Outlook for the fix to take effect.
To reverse the fix, delete or rename the copied RICHED20.DLL and remove -15 from the original RICHED20.DLL filename.
MarkS says
That is good news! Thanks for relaying it.
MarkS says
Diane, thank you for your help, but unfortunately, this file did not work for me. It prevents my reminders window from opening, and I can't seem to open any of my outlook contacts using the custom form that this bug is affecting. But I appreciate the effort. I think I might create dummy fields also.
Diane Poremsky says
Yeah, it's not a perfect solution. :) The good news: it will be fixed in the April updates aka patch tuesday.
Ian Andrew says
One year ago I made my own Appointment forms in Outlook 2013 Calendar. I made about 200 custom fields over 5 pages. I had some fields go tiny on each page. When I researched the problem it seems it is the text field at the top of the Tab Order list. I made a workaround by making some dummy fields and moving them to the top of the list-bit cumbersome! Is this the same bug? I am not an IT expert. Are your fixes changing the registry? Is it safe for someone like me to do it?
Diane Poremsky says
It sounds like the same bug - I've only seen it affect the first field in the form though. At this time there is no fix, other than replacing the riched20.dll, but that may introduce other bugs. Replacing the riched320.dll doesn't involve the registry - find and rename the current riched20.dll and drop the replace in the same folder. If you have problems, delete the ricked20.dll and rename your original dll back.
nickel says
Thx... worked for me with win8.1 and 2013 x64
Baird Eutsler says
I am having this issue too, Windows 7 Office 2013 x64. Everything is up to date, so I guess they haven't fixed it yet. Do you have the x64 version of the file now?
Thank you.
Diane Poremsky says
This is the 64-bit version of the RTM dll. https://www.slipstick.com/files/RICHED20-15.4420-64.zip
Mark Schumacher says
Diane,
Any update on this?
Diane Poremsky says
Nothing from Microsoft yet, sorry. This is from an earlier 32-bit version Riched20 15.4420 version. I'll have to set up a 64-bit virtual machine, all of my current VMs were upgraded automatically. :(
Mark Schumacher says
Diane, My office program updated itself this morning, and it looks like this bug is still present. Any other thoughts on what I might be able to do to resolve it?
Thanks. Mark
Mark Schumacher says
Thank you. Great. Thanks.
Mark Schumacher says
Diane, Thanks for getting back to me. I was able to find two additional files, both from 2010. I tried both, and to no avail. When I re-open Outlook 2013, I can't open any contact forms, and the program can't display my reminder window.
So now, I'm not sure what to do.
Diane Poremsky says
We should know by this time next week if the fix is in the December update, so my suggestion is to hold off a few days and I'll see if i can find an file from Outlook 2013.
Mark Schumacher says
Diane, I am having this issue as well. I'm a 1-person shop, and therefore, don't have another computer to pull the old .dll file from. Where can I find it?
Thanks. Mark
Diane Poremsky says
Search your drive and see if you have any copies of the older dll on your computer - there should be a total of 3, but I forget if they are the older version - I tested it with a copy from Office 2010. If you can't find one that works, let me know if you are using 32 or 64 bit and I'll upload one. (I'll upload one from 32bit office 2010 as soon as i get it off the VM.)