Error opening front end

[steveg242]

[Solved]Error opening front end

Hi,

We recently (yes, just now finally) converted our long time Access 2.0 database to Access 2003. I've spent some time getting everything to work again (vba code, forms, reports, etc.) Looks to be working fine in the mdb file. I have split the database into a front end and back end and am using Bob Larson's tool to auto update the front end.

When I put the icon on end user's desktop, with some users I get the following error...

The on open expression is just a macro directing which form to open (different users are to get different forms on start). This is located on the command line in the icon.

The odd thing is this doesn't happen on everyone's pc. We all run win XP and all are updated to SP3. For some it works perfectly.

This issue is fixed IF I create the mde file on that PC. The problem is once the FE is updated, the problem resurfaces, defeating the purpose of such remote updates.

Like I said, it's only happening on some pcs. My first thought was references and on each pc I checked the references and they are all the same.

Any thoughts or ideas? Any other info I need to provide?

 

[boblarson]

Can't see the photo because you didn't upload it here and used some other site instead (which is blocked by my workplace). Can you upload the photo here please?

 

[steveg242]

Oh, sorry. Used imageshack. Ok, now I attached it.

 

[boblarson]

What is the whole shortcut path that is in the shortcut?

 

[steveg242]

Here is an example:
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\MSACCESS.EXE" c:\database\Testing.mde /wrkgrp k:\database\dbUsers.mdw /User Steve /x Open Forms.Open Main

Yeah...probably not the most efficient manner to go about this type of thing...that's something on my todo list...creating a much better system for assigning the right opening form for users.

Like I said, this works for some machines and even works if you create the mde file on the target machine, but not after an update.

 

[boblarson]

Well, not sure about it but I would just open the database and let the database determine who it is and then open the form that way. I am not sure why it is having problems but I'm pretty sure it has to do with the command line part.

 

[steveg242]

Did some further testing and looks like the method of opening makes no difference. When I had that error I opened the .mde file manually and had the same error with just about everything I did...every button, every procedure.

Again, when compiling the mde file on that pc, it goes away and everything runs fine.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Bob, I'm not up on the innards of converting MDB to MDE, but it seems to me that this description almost sounds like a difference in References, which the MDE conversion somehow overcomes if you compile locally. Does this make sense to you?

 

[boblarson]

Could be. Would have to see the mdb file to see what references are set to know what might be having a problem. (or a list of them from the OP might help).

 

[steveg242]

That was my thought too after doing some research on that kind of error. But I take a look at Access's references on my pc and that of one of the offending pc's and they are identical.

 

[steveg242]

In fact, I just installed it on a pc which was just installed and the user had never even used Access, and it worked perfectly. :s

 

[steveg242]

Ok, after a lot of hair pulling I finally figured this one out. It did, at least indirectly, have something to do with references. I noticed some boxes didn't have utility.mda set as a reference. But even when I added that as a reference it didn't make a difference. What did make a difference is copying the version of utility.mda I have on my box (C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\utility.mda) to the box with the problem. Worked every time.

I have a module called utilities but to my knowledge don't make use of that file.

Sometimes you don't have to understand why a solution works...as long as it works.

 

[boblarson]

Whew! Glad you figured it out. That was a bit of a stumper.