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INPLACE_E_NOTOOLSPACE
Space for tools is not available
Windows defines INPLACE_E_NOTOOLSPACE as 2147746209 (0x800401A1; signed value -2147221087). The documented description is “Space for tools is not available”. The container cannot allocate the border or tool space requested for in-place activation. The relevant operation is negotiating menus, toolbars, and border space between an active OLE object and its container.
Where it is raised
In-place activation is a negotiation between the object, client site, frame, and document window. Undo capability and border space are independent resources and need distinct recovery paths.
- Associate this result with one exact operation in IOleInPlaceObject, IOleInPlaceSite, active-object negotiation, undo state, border space, and tool-window layout.
- Confirm that this result came from negotiating menus, toolbars, and border space between an active OLE object and its container, rather than from cleanup or a wrapper that ran afterward.
Telemetry checklist
A useful incident records the in-place activation phase, active object, container and object rectangles, border widths, frame and document windows, undo transaction state, and UI deactivation sequence.
- Log frame/document rectangles and requested BORDERWIDTHS.
- Record which component already owns each border side.
- Reproduce after layout stabilization and with toolbars hidden.
Why it is specific
- It can result when the requested border widths exceed the available frame area.
- It can result when multiple active tool components reserve incompatible space.
- It can result when a resize or DPI change invalidates rectangles during activation.
Investigation order
- Identify the exact object, method, and lifecycle phase involved in negotiating menus, toolbars, and border space between an active OLE object and its container.
Safe handling
Correction. reduce or reflow tool UI, deactivate conflicting components, or fall back to out-of-place activation. Retry condition. Retry after layout or ownership changes; immediate retries during the same resize sequence can oscillate. Before repeating the operation, deactivate any partially active object, restore frame and document-window border space, and close or commit the current undo unit consistently.
Practical scenario
A narrow document window cannot host the embedded editor’s top and side toolbars; the container opens the object in a separate window.
Difference from related HRESULTs
INPLACE_E_NOTUNDOABLE concerns edit history; it concerns physical UI negotiation during activation.
Developer and administrator guidance
Model activation, UI activation, border negotiation, and undo as separate states, and balance every site or frame callback even when a later phase fails. Regression coverage should include objects without undo, zero and insufficient border space, tool-window changes, nested activation, frame destruction, and failure during UI deactivation.
Compare the object server in a known compatible container; layout or undo contract failures should not be treated as generic COM-registration damage.
References
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