“Cannot start Microsoft Outlook. Cannot open the Outlook window. Invalid XML, the view cannot be loaded.”

OR

“One or more Active X controls could not be displayed.”
OR

“Your current security settings prohibit running ActiveX controls on this page. As a result, the page may not display correctly.”

If you have stumbled on any one of these error messages, then my friend you have fallen victim to the infamous “Invalid XML” error. The “Invalid XML” error is an error that can be resolved, if the cause of this error is understood.

Cause for the “Invalid XML” error

The “Invalid XML” error occurs because of two basic reasons.

1. If you use Word as your email editor or if you use an email signature that was created in Word, this error will most definitely hit you.
2. Another possibility that was found is that, if you have installed a range of add-ins in Word this problem seems to pop up. This is because the add-ins modifies the normal.dot file.

How do we rectify the “Invalid XML” error?

Here are the various procedures to be carried out, in order to correct the “Invalid XML” error.

1. Check the signature

Turn off your default signature to check if the issue pertains when you create a mail or when somebody sends you one. If the issue is resolved, it means that the ActiveX control was a part of your signature. All you have to do is create a new one.

1. Reset normal.dot file

To reset the normal.dot file, all you have to do is rename it to ‘.old’. Bear in mind that the Outlook and Word applications are closed while renaming. To find the normal.dot file, go to the following locations

For windows 7 and Vista

C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates\

For Windows XP

C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates\

1. Remove the Word add-ins

If the “Invalid XML” error pertains after following the above procedure, disable all the Word add-ins. Now, enable them one at a time. While enabling them, try opening both Word and Outlook to find the ActiveX.

That should be all the help you need to handle the “Invalid XML” error.