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CACHE_S_FORMATETC_NOTSUPPORTED
OLE cache skipped an unsupported presentation format
CACHE_S_FORMATETC_NOTSUPPORTED is HRESULT 262512 (0x00040170) from winerror.h. AllStat describes this result as “FORMATETC not supported.” The high-order severity bit is clear, so this is a success result, but it carries more information than plain S_OK.
The cache operation completed with information that the requested FORMATETC is not supported for caching.
State boundary that must be proved
The central question for it is whether other requested cache entries and the object itself may remain usable even though this particular format was not accepted. The HRESULT alone confirms neither unrelated work nor the quality of optional outputs.
A reliable interpretation of this result names the exact method contract, the object generation, and the outputs that remain valid. This prevents a success-with-information result from being promoted to full success or demoted to a generic error.
Where the result is encountered
- This result can appear in IOleCache::Cache requests; record the producing interface and method rather than inferring behavior from the symbolic name alone.
- It can appear in embedded-object presentation caching; record the producing interface and method rather than inferring behavior from the symbolic name alone.
- It can appear in containers preparing offline display data for several aspects or media types; record the producing interface and method rather than inferring behavior from the symbolic name alone.
The same numeric success value can be mishandled when a wrapper exposes only a Boolean. Keep the original HRESULT until the code-specific outputs and state transition have been evaluated.
Evidence and telemetry to preserve
- preserve the rejected FORMATETC fields.
- preserve supported formats enumerated by the data object.
- preserve cache connection identifier output.
- preserve ADVF flags and update policy.
- preserve whether a fallback presentation was cached.
Also record cache_s_formatetc_notsupported_operation, cache_s_formatetc_notsupported_object, cache_s_formatetc_notsupported_state_before, cache_s_formatetc_notsupported_state_after, UTC time, process and thread identifiers, and a correlation ID. Keep secrets out of logs while retaining GUIDs, CLSIDs, media subtypes, property IDs, row identities, and hashes needed to distinguish objects.
Diagnostic sequence
- capture the raw HRESULT
0x00040170immediately after the returning method and record whether the caller usedSUCCEEDED,FAILED, equality testing, or exception translation. - Identify the exact owner of it: interface, method, object instance, provider or filter version, thread or apartment, and operation phase.
- Validate the decisive contract boundary for it: other requested cache entries and the object itself may remain usable even though this particular format was not accepted.
- inspect every output parameter, count, status array, returned interface, or side effect that the method documentation associates with this success-with-information result.
- Compare the observed state before and after it; do not assume that a success severity bit means every optional sub-operation completed.
- reproduce the smallest request with the same object state and then change only the condition identified by the evidence before repeating the operation.
Correct handling, retry, and recovery
Choose a supported presentation format or continue without that cache entry when live rendering is acceptable. Do not assume the source data format itself is invalid.
Retry it only when the recorded state can change the documented outcome. Repeating the same call is inappropriate for a stable end marker, cancellation, unsupported format, adjusted property, or partial result whose completed side effects have not been reconciled.
Practical validation scenario
A container asks an object to cache a custom device-dependent format for offline thumbnails. The object declines that FORMATETC but accepts a metafile fallback, which the container verifies after closing the server.
The negative test should preserve the condition that produces it; the recovery test should alter only that condition and verify the final state as well as the HRESULT.
Difference from nearby HRESULT values
DATA_S_SAMEFORMATETC reports equivalence; it reports that the requested cache representation cannot be created.
This distinction determines whether the caller should consume partial outputs, stop iteration, wait, reconfigure, notify the user, or perform no error recovery at all.
Developer and administrator guidance
When it crosses process, RPC, scripting, or managed-code boundaries, preserve the unsigned 32-bit value and symbolic name. A signed decimal rendering can obscure that the severity bit indicates success and can lead to incorrect exception or retry behavior.
A support report for it should include decimal 262512, hexadecimal 0x00040170, the AllStat meaning, the owning API, and the first detailed status or output that explains why the method did not return ordinary S_OK.
References
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