access problem dragging fields

[Faoineag]

Good morning, for a while in Access 2016 I can no longer drag (example to create relationships), neither with the mouse nor with the touch pad. I tried to restore the computer and initially it works again, so after a few days, probably followed by some updates of Windows 10 or Office, the drag stops working. How can you solve? The version of Office is: 16.0.8730.2165 32 bit.

 

[isladogs]

Welcome to AWF
I have 16.0.8730.2127 32 bit & don't have this issue

As you suggest this happened after an update of Windows / Access 2016 have you checked online to see if this is a recent bug?
I know it affected some users with previous updates:
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/msoffice_outlook-mso_win10-mso_o365b/outlook-2016-wont-drag-and-drop-emails-with-mouse/991ca590-fc45-49d9-9de6-bf50b5f5fcc8

Also have you tried
a) doing a compact/repair of your db
b) repairing or reinstalling Office

 

[Faoineag]

For twice I have:
- reset the PC with the Windows 10 recovery option
- installed Office 2016.
At the beginning the dragging in Access works, then after a few days, in which there are updates of Windows 10 and Office, the drag stops working (I see a black circle with a diagonal line)
Now I have created a new small database in Access with only two tables with two fields and when I try to drag the fields to create the relationships the dragging does not work.

 

[isladogs]

Sorry - no further ideas
Suggest you report this at Access user voice after checking whether others have already done so

In access 2016, click File ... Feedback ... Send A Suggestion
Oh & while you're on there, please add your vote for Add PowerQuery to Access. Currently the top rate suggestion & still not on their to do list

 

[jdraw]

Further to Ridders' suggestion, you could post a copy of the database and readers could see/review the issue. However, it does seem specific to you at the moment.

(Remove anything confidential before posting.)

 

[The_Doc_Man]

OK, you have shown that the problem occurs for something other than your app (by building that little test-bed database.) Therefore, it is not a setting of the specific DB file, and that eliminates a whole range of possibilities. Let's see if we can locate this issue a bit more closely.

You don't say whether you have tried this, but it would be a good time to see if other MS programs are affected. If you have Excel or Word, see if the mouse pointer is affected once Access gets affected. I.e. does this failure track only with Access; with anything in Office; or even stuff outside of Windows?

If you were using a custom mouse-pointer, can you go into Windows >> Accessibility options or through control panel to Mouse options and change the pointer? And if you do, does the problem go away?

Without knowing what parts are affected, it is hard to say whether this is a driver issue or whether it is part of MSACCESS.EXE or part of some obscure .DLL file or part of Windows related to mouse customization.

 

[Faoineag]

I state that the first time I realized the problem, I had recently replaced the mouse because the old one no longer worked; so I initially thought that the problem depended on the new mouse. Then I uninstalled Office and when I installed it the problem remained. So I formatted the PC and immediately, for a few days, and with the new mouse entered, dragging in Access works, then the problem returns. Now I tried with Word and Excel and it all works, as if I change the pointer, I tried to uninstall and reinstall the mouse, but the problem remains. Practically the problem concerns only Access and precisely the drag that is used to create the relationships, to insert a subform and to insert a field in a mask from the Field List (if I select the field to insert a black circle appears with the line diagonally and the field does not seem to exit the column in the Field List); if instead I move a field, already inserted, in a mask everything works

 

[isladogs]

Ok so please upload your test database so we can test it on our own computers.

 

[Faoineag]

View attachment Database2.accdb

Thank you

 

[isladogs]

Using your database, drag & drop works perfectly for me using Access 2010 & Access 2016

I checked the Relationships window & the query designer in each

 

[moke123]

ditto, me too.

 

[isladogs]

It really needs someone with exactly the same Access version as the OP to check this.
i.e. Access 2016 16.0.8730.2165 32 bit

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Lets me out for testing - I have an older version.

Let's clarify something: You discuss the idea that when things go funky on you, certain mouse functions no longer work in Access. But your choice of words left open the possibility that the mouse is still usable for other things like selection preparatory to launching something, for mouse clicks on a control, etc. Is it the case that for Access, once the problem manifests, the mouse is not just merely dead, it is really most sincerely dead?

When you dropped the old mouse in favor of a new one, did a device driver disk come with that mouse? OK, mouse drivers are pretty generic, but some vendors add bells and whistles depending on connectivity methods. You DID say you uninstalled and re-installed the mouse, which sounds like maybe a driver was involved. Are we talking USB? Wireless? Blue Tooth? Some other type of connection? How does the new mouse commune with Windows?

Another question, though that little test DB makes it unlikely... have you tried creating a new app from scratch by importing everything to a new blank DB file? I'm working on the idea of DB corruption even though that little DB says "poor odds."

Then there is my old standby. Launch your DB. Attempt to use the mouse on your Access DB. Carefully note the exact time on the computer clock (usually lower right end of task bar) as to when you make the attempts. Then open up the control panel and get to the administrative tools section. You want to launch the event viewer and go through the System and Application and Device logs looking for any kind of mouse-related event at the specific time that you tried to do something. If you find something, report it.

 

[JHB]

Are you able to record the behaviour and attached the file here, maybe someone could see or have a suspicion what the problem is?

 

[Faoineag]

Lets me out for testing - I have an older version.

Let's clarify something: You discuss the idea that when things go funky on you, certain mouse functions no longer work in Access. But your choice of words left open the possibility that the mouse is still usable for other things like selection preparatory to launching something, for mouse clicks on a control, etc. Is it the case that for Access, once the problem manifests, the mouse is not just merely dead, it is really most sincerely dead?

When you dropped the old mouse in favor of a new one, did a device driver disk come with that mouse? OK, mouse drivers are pretty generic, but some vendors add bells and whistles depending on connectivity methods. You DID say you uninstalled and re-installed the mouse, which sounds like maybe a driver was involved. Are we talking USB? Wireless? Blue Tooth? Some other type of connection? How does the new mouse commune with Windows?

Another question, though that little test DB makes it unlikely... have you tried creating a new app from scratch by importing everything to a new blank DB file? I'm working on the idea of DB corruption even though that little DB says "poor odds."

Then there is my old standby. Launch your DB. Attempt to use the mouse on your Access DB. Carefully note the exact time on the computer clock (usually lower right end of task bar) as to when you make the attempts. Then open up the control panel and get to the administrative tools section. You want to launch the event viewer and go through the System and Application and Device logs looking for any kind of mouse-related event at the specific time that you tried to do something. If you find something, report it.

Are you able to record the behaviour and attached the file here, maybe someone could see or have a suspicion what the problem is?

 

[Faoineag]

Are you able to record the behaviour and attached the file here, maybe someone could see or have a suspicion what the problem is?

What do you mean?

 

[JHB]

What I mean is, making a little film of what happen on the screen.
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-to-record-your-computer-screen/

 

[Faoineag]

I solved the problem, I did so: I re-formatted the PC, without inserting the mouse, I upgraded Windows, installed Office, then with a specific software I updated several old drivers of the computer, only at this point I installed the mouse and now dragging to Access has not yet stopped. We hope to continue like this! Thank you all for the availability

 

[The_Doc_Man]

After the fact, this sounds like something that was common during MS-DOS days. (Yes, I'm that old.) It was an "installation artifact" that came about during "ragged installations" where something you needed didn't get installed correctly. By starting with a "clean machine" you had no remnants of that putative bad installation so re-installing did the right thing this time. Unfortunately, we may never know.

For what it's worth, you did the right thing by starting from a known initial state and carefully building layers one at a time until you were done. Good job!