VMS Help CC, Messages, AUTOEXTERNAL  *Conan The Librarian (sorry for the slow response - running on an old VAX)

 Message        <Context> a storage class of "auto" or "register" is
                illegal at file scope.

 Description    The storage classes auto and register can only be
                used in a declaration that appears inside a function.
                They cannot be used in a declaration at file scope.

 User Action    Remove the storage class specifier or move the
                declaration inside a function body.