Need help with error: The expression you entered has... (1 Viewer)

Hi there! I have a strange error that's really frustrating me. A client of mine is trying to run my app in the same environment I have (Win 10, Office 365 32 bit) and she always gets the error: "The expression you entered has a function name that Tradumanager can't find". With all other users, the app is running just fine. So I tried to repair Office (full and quick repair) on her PC, installed Access Runtime 365 etc. but nothing helped. Then I tried to run the accdb on my client's PC to see if there is a problem with the references for example. However, I couldn't access the VBA editor as I got the error: "The database cannot be opened because the VBA project contained in it cannot be read....". I think that both issues could be related... Does anyone know a solution to this? Have you ever experienced the same issue? Thank you for help! Frank

Hi Frank. That error message usually tells me to suspect corruption. Are you able to restore from a good backup copy of your app? Just a thought...

Frank,

something else to consider. sometimes Access just sucks completely and even though a lot of small businesses and people who don't want to pay for database hosting services like SSRS use it, a migration to another platform like SQL Server, MYSQL or Oracle might save you the frustration of stuff like this. if dbGuy is right, that is.

The Access runtime environments, developer extensions and simple file extensions all have documented bugs in them and I've read many articles that were written by people who complained about all of these.

Well, the app is running error free on all other machines (+100 users), so I don't understand the point of restoring a backup. I have full control over the app on my PC and it gives me no errors at all. The backend is a MySQL database if that is of any importance...

You say that other people CAN run the app. So first question: Is this a split DB? If the front-end has become corrupted, copy someone else's front-end file (one that is still working OK) for the problem user. That would resolve front-end corruption. If only one user is seeing this problem and everyone else is not, that would point away from the back-end most of the time.

If this is a shared but NOT split DB, you are playing with fire. If it is a non-shared DB then split or not is immaterial.

You should consider the circumstances under which this error occurs. If this is a one-user error in a group of otherwise working-ok users, get to HER machine and examine the references. (Of course, that is Open a code window >> Tools >> References.) Look for differences between her reference list and a working system. Also check for her to have missing references, which would be shown in the references list.

The basis for that is simple: References is a per-system thing because they are kept in the registry, which is a per-system data repository. If something is wrong on one machine out of five running the same app and the persons are ostensibly doing the same job, it isn't the app. It is app's host. And in that case, the first place to look is at references.

It is unlikely to cause this error, but the second place is, if this is a split database and you have a common back-end that is shared, verify the non-working user has the right permissions for the back-end folder when compared to the users who are working. Sometimes inexperienced IT folks set up the permissions wrong for a given user. Even if the DB is NOT shared, it is possible that the user's permissions on a particular folder CAN get in the way, though this is less likely for non-shared DBs.

If the references don't seem to be different and if the permissions don't differ or don't matter either, we'll have to look harder.

Thank you for your detailed input. However, this is exactly what I tried - to look for missing references / problems with the references on the client's PC. Therefore I ran the app in accdb format (open) on her PC, but that led to the next error:
So it's impossible to check her references! :banghead: Is there maybe another way to check or clean up her references? Or can I check if there are references activated in my app that my app doesn't need? I remember that she had Office 2007 installed on her PC before they installed Office 365. So maybe it has to do with that. I also suspect that the problem has rather to do with her system than with the app, because the app is running fine an all other PCs (it's split: Access FE and online MySQL database as BE). Frank

Frank,

you should also know that sometimes when you develop an app in access with a certain version, then open it and try to execute it with another version, code will error out because the VBA references will end up with the string "MISSING:" next to them.

I never have been able to understand that crap. I think that's another MS mistake, but it's happened to me many times. a lot of times though, the references will be automatically updated for you and no error occurs. for instance, you have a VBA ref set to "MICROSOFT EXCEL 12.0" and then someone runs the app with access 2016. the ref changes to "MICROSOFT EXCEL 15.0/16.0". I'm guessing. I've never see that specific scenario. only ones where the developer and user were 5 years apart and back in the days of version 2007 and 2010.

maybe that's something you can use too?

perlfan said:

Well, the app is running error free on all other machines (+100 users), so I don't understand the point of restoring a backup. I have full control over the app on my PC and it gives me no errors at all. The backend is a MySQL database if that is of any importance...

Click to expand...

Hi. The point I was trying to make is in line with what Doc said. I "assumed" each user has their own copy of the front end on their machine. If so, then it wouldn't matter if other people are not having problems with their copies of the front end on their machines because each file is separate from each other, so any one of them can get corrupted without affecting other users/copies of the front end. So, if one user's copy got corrupted, one possible solution is to replace it with a known good copy. Hope that explains what I meant.

Just to add to the comments about corruption. The message indicates corruption in your vba project.

Corruption can take 3 forms
1. Corrupted code in the FE. As each user has their own copy of the FE, only that user will be affected. In severe cases, it will cause exactly the error message you gave. You can either replace with a known good copy as already suggested or decompile to remove corrupt code then compact.
For more info on decompiling, see http://www.fmsinc.com/microsoftaccess/Performance/Decompile.asp

2. Corrupted objects or controls in the FE. That can be fixed by replacing the affected objects or controls e.g. by importing from a working copy or replacing the FE...but it wouldn't cause that particular error message

3. Corrupted data in one or more BE tables. Replacing or fixing the FE will have no effect in that case. Once again you wouldn't get that specific message

Note that incorrect or missing references will cause issues but you would get a different message if that was the case.

theDBguy said:

So, if one user's copy got corrupted, one possible solution is to replace it with a known good copy. .

Click to expand...

Well, there are many users that use exactly the same accdb copy - and they are all working without any problems. So I don't know what you mean with "good copy".

perlfan said:

Well, there are many users that use exactly the same accdb copy - and they are all working without any problems. So I don't know what you mean with "good copy".

Click to expand...

They may have been the same originally but in this case, the copy has got corrupted since. Replace with the original working version or one form another PC ... or decompile as I suggested which may well fix the issue in a few seconds.

perlfan said:

Well, there are many users that use exactly the same accdb copy - and they are all working without any problems. So I don't know what you mean with "good copy".

Click to expand...

Again, my original assumption is that you have UserA using CopyA of the db and UserB using CopyB of the db. So, if CopyB got corrupted, you can simply replace it with CopyA and call it CopyB.


However, it sounds like all your users are using the same exact physical file to share among them. If this is correct, then you can ignore what I said. The problem is probably either with the computer or user settings for the one having the problem.


If that's the case though (users sharing a single file), you might consider giving each of them their own copy to use to avoid other potential problems in the future. Just a thought...