Corrupted database, can't edit properties

[snow-raven]

I didn't see a PANIC forum, so hopefully "General" is the appropriate place for this.
Was working on my project yesterday & had a snafu with a tech who was mucking around in my "WORKING_DONT_TOUCH" folder while I had things open. After chewing his bum and fixing the project he had set up elsewhere, I was dumb an renamed my folder "NO_REALLY_DONT_TOUCH".
I don't know if it's connected, but now my working template (and the past two or three days' backups) open but won't allow me to edit properties. The entire property window in every form & query has objects, but won't display the properties. I searched around and haven't found anyone describing a similar problem. I can't find any weird settings that could cause it. Compact & repair does nothing.
If I go back about a week, the database works normally. Backup copies for the past few days all seem to have the same problem. The weird thing is that I've been focusing on documenting queries & tables, and I guess I can't swear it hasn't been this way for a few days...
Any ideas? :banghead:

 

[isladogs]

Try decompiling.

 

[snow-raven]

Thanks, 'dog. I think I'm doing that correctly; tried a few cycles of decompile, compact, & repair. No luck.

 

[isladogs]

Watch it 'crow'. Who you calling 'dog'?

Just in case you aren't doing it right, read this article on decompiling
http://www.fmsinc.com/microsoftaccess/Performance/Decompile.asp

Is it just a problem on this one database?

If it still fails, I would first try copying all objects into a new database and if all else fails try repairing Office

 

[Vassago]

I feel like this is Game of Thrones with The Hound and Crows.

Sorry, I would have suggested Colin's solution above next as well, but had to put in a word on the nicknames above.

 

[isladogs]

LOL. I couldn't resist on the names.
Hopefully Gemma The Husky will join in next followed by Diamond Leopard....

 

[snow-raven]

Hey, don't rag on the raven (although deservedly - sorry, isladogs, couldn't resist)! Without Raven, we'd have no sun, moon, or stars. We'd still have Access, though!

I tried the copy paste idea from a post I found yesterday. It fixed the problem, but didn't carry over the relationships, so I decided that reverting to my week-ago backup would be faster than re-building that beast. Although it might help me streamline things...

I'm still able to change properties in the old one, so I don't think it's an office problem. I tried your repair idea, anyway, but no luck there.

I'm repeating my recent edits in the new one, so maybe I will find out what went wrong along the way. Much more incremental backing up, however...

 

[isladogs]

Importing all objects into a new database should copy all the code as well.
But I agree sometimes things don't always work by that method.

I always suggest decompiling first as it's very quick to do, almost always works and avoids the need to create a new database. I may be wrong but it sounds like you didn't try it.

 

[snow-raven]

Wait, I'm confused... The relationships are all there in the queries, and appear to still be there if I add new tables to a query. So does it matter if I can't see them in the Relationships view? In the past, it seemed like certain queries wouldn't work if I hadn't added a table to the relationships. I guess I need to read up on that more.

 

[snow-raven]

Sorry, didn't mean to make it sound that way. I did try compiling. I wasn't sure at first that I was doing it right, but forced it to find a code error, so now I'm confident it was working. It just didn't have an effect, apparently. Except that my file size got larger, even after compacting again? Access file sizes confuse me...

 

[isladogs]

First of all check the table aren't just hidden in the relationships window.
Try restoring a couple of linked tables. Is the relationship restored?

There are different viewpoints on setting relationships at the application level.
Some developers do so meticulously even if they modify those links for specific queries.
Others rarely if ever do so and just set the links in queries/SQL.

EDIT
The reason why I keep asking is that decompiling is the exact opposite of compiling.
It is done in a totally different way and for a different reason as explained in the FMS article.
Decompiling does not find code errors. Compiling does that.

 

[snow-raven]

So, I used the FMS article you linked and ran into trouble with the command prompt method. I get the attached error message. I tried a few times, and decided it was possibly a system admin access limitation?

However, I was able to make a shortcut. I can launch with the target: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\MSACCESS.EXE" /decompile
So I think that does the same thing?

I just tried another shortcut pointing directly at the file, following https://stackoverflow.com/questions...ecompile-and-recompile-a-database-application

There's no obvious change that I can see, so I'm just going on faith that it did something when there are no error messages. It did find a VBA error when it recompiled, but fixing that doesn't remove my problem.

I followed this one to figure out the compiling part (because somehow the word "module" confused me in the first article): http://datagnostics.com/dtips/decompile.html

Does that sound correct?

 

[isladogs]

Either of the references you listed gives a valid approach to DE-compiling.
I just have a desktop shortcut to start Access with the decompile switch then select the database.

What it does it fix compilation code errors by stripping out all compile code.
It won't fix corrupted data
Neither will it fix errors in your Access program file.
As you still have a problem, it sounds like an Office repair or reinstall is needed.
However you didn't answer an earlier question. Is it just this one file causing issues?

 

[snow-raven]

This file and all backups of it for the past three days have this problem. If I go back to an earlier version, it works fine; can edit properties. New databases work normally.

 

[Diamond-Leopard]

Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armour yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.

Hope that helps

 

[isladogs]

Thanks for the high level philosophy DL
Just need Gemma the Husky to pop in now.

@SR
Hmm. Perhaps no need for an Office repair.
One other possibility I forgot to mention....
Yours looks rather like the attached screenshot which I've created deliberately

Try dragging the left side of the properties window to increase it's width.
Do you see the missing info now if you increase the width a lot?

 

[snow-raven]

Cats are always helpful on projects, D-L.

I think I'm back to where I was 24 hrs ago and haven't corrupted anything, so soldiering on. Thanks, all

 

[snow-raven]

I'm going to cry.

"No," she says. "Of course not, isladogs. Mine doesn't look anything like that, it's three inches wide. See - if I grab this spot right here and... drag... a bit..."

It can't have been that the whole time? How the H did that even happen? I definitely tried resizing the window, but I guess I never drug it far enough and I didn't see the divider. I'm always so conservative about screen real-estate. grrrrrr

It must have been the cat... :banghead:

 

[isladogs]

I had intended to mention that in my very first reply.
It sometimes happens to me when I drag the Access window to a second monitor

For the screenshot, I deliberately created the effect on my tablet.
Mistake. It took me about 5 minutes before I could grab the border and fix it again.
I almost cried myself all the time thinking next time dog eat crow not help crow.

 

[Uncle Gizmo]

I haven't got as much faith in decompile as Colin, and I prefer to copy out the components into a blank new database at least once a week, particularly if it's a big cumbersome project nearing completion, and starts doing strange things.

I have what is termed a "Boiler Plate" database. That's one set up with all the defaults I prefer. I make a copy of that, and then copy all the components into the copy of the "Boiler Plate"

The "Boiler Plate" dB is also a useful starting point for a new project.

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