Troubleshooting Problems Opening IDL Files
Common IDL Opening Problems
Microsoft Visual Studio Disappeared
When you double-click your IDL file, you may see a dialog box from your operating system stating that it "Cannot Open This File Type". When this happens, it is commonly due to Microsoft Visual Studio missing in %%os%%. The OS won't know what to do with your IDL file, so double-clicking to load the file doesn't work.
Tip: If you don't have Microsoft Visual Studio installed, and you know of another program to open your IDL file, you can try opening it by selecting from the programs listed under "Show Apps".
Microsoft Visual Studio is Out-of-Date
In other instances, your Interface Definition Language File file version may not be supported by your version of Microsoft Visual Studio. Download the latest Microsoft Visual Studio version from the Microsoft Corporation website to ensure you have the correct one installed. This issue mainly occurs when your Interface Definition Language File file was created by a newer version of Microsoft Visual Studio than you have on your PC.
Tip: You can sometimes get hints about the right program version by right-clicking on the IDL file, selecting "Properties", and looking at the version information.
Primarily, problems experienced when opening IDL files are due to having the incorrect version of Microsoft Visual Studio installed on your computer.
Other Causes of IDL File Opening Problems
In the majority of cases, installing the right version of Microsoft Visual Studio will resolve your issue. If you are continuing to have errors with loading IDL files, other external issues might be to blame. Problems unrelated to software:
- Invalid IDL file references in the Windows Registry (the "phonebook" of the Windows Operating System)
- Corruption of the IDL file description inside the Registry
- Invalid installation of a IDL-associated program (eg. Microsoft Visual Studio)
- The IDL itself is corrupted
- Your IDL has adversely impacted by malware
- Device drivers for IDL-related hardware are out-of-date
- Your computer does not have the adequate system resources to open the Interface Definition Language File format
Quiz: What file extension was created by Adobe Corporation in 1992?
That's Correct!
The PDF, or Portable Document Format, was first mentioned by Adobe at the Seybold conference in San Jose in 1991. Version 1.0 wasn't announced until the following year at the COMDEX Fall conference where it was awarded ‘best of Comdex’.
Close, but not quite...
The PDF, or Portable Document Format, was first mentioned by Adobe at the Seybold conference in San Jose in 1991. Version 1.0 wasn't announced until the following year at the COMDEX Fall conference where it was awarded ‘best of Comdex’.