DocumentationExperience Cloud KCS

Resolve missing DLL errors when launching AEM Forms Designer 6.5

Last update: October 21, 2026

Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Forms Designer 6.5 may fail to launch on Windows with missing DLL errors when endpoint security tools remove required DLL files from the Designer installation directory or the correct Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable isn’t installed. To resolve the issue, verify the required Visual C++ Redistributables, review security policies, reinstall Designer if necessary, confirm the required DLL files and permissions, register the DLL files if needed, and verify that Designer launches successfully.

Description description

Environment

  • Adobe Experience Manager Forms Designer 6.5.20 (32-bit)
  • Windows operating system

Issue/Symptoms

  • AEM Forms Designer 6.5 (32-bit) displays missing DLL errors when launched on Windows.
  • Designer fails to launch or function correctly when required DLL files are missing.
  • The following error appears: The program can’t start because [ DLL_NAME] .dll is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem.

Root cause

  • Endpoint security tools or scripts remove required DLL files.
  • The correct Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable version isn’t installed.

Resolution resolution

Follow the steps below to resolve the issue:

  1. Verify that the following Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable packages are installed in their 32-bit/x86 versions:

    • Visual C++ 2008
    • Visual C++ 2010
    • Visual C++ 2012
    • Visual C++ 2013
    • Visual C++ 2015–2022

    Download the packages from the official Microsoft website.

  2. Review the security policies:

    • Check whether endpoint protection or security scripts are removing DLL files from the Designer installation directory.
    • Work with your IT or security team to whitelist the required DLLs for Designer operation.

  3. Perform a clean uninstall and reinstall of Designer:

    1. Uninstall any previous versions of Designer and Workbench.
    2. Delete leftover files in the Designer installation directory.
    3. Remove related registry entries if necessary.
    4. Download the latest supported Workbench installer, which includes Designer 6.5.20 32-bit, from the official Adobe distribution portal.
    5. Reinstall Workbench to restore the Designer component.

  4. Confirm the presence of the required DLL files and their permissions:

    • Verify that all required DLL files are present in the Designer installation directory after installation.
    • Check for common required DLLs, including FileSystemBrowser.dll, ImageFileBrowserIDL.dll, and others included with the Designer installer.
    • Ensure that you have read and execute permissions for these DLL files.

  5. If needed, open Command Prompt as Administrator and run the following commands, adjusting the paths as necessary:

    code language-none 
    regsvr32.exe "\FileSystemBrowser.dll"
regsvr32.exe "\ImageFileBrowserIDL.dll"

  6. Launch AEM Forms Designer and confirm that it opens without missing DLL errors.

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