Errors emailed to me

[ejhatch]

Hi All,

I am setting up an Access db which will be used by different customers. In the event that they find an error in my VB code, I would like this error to be trapped and the details emailed to me. Is this easily done or am I just nuts. I would rather not have to rely on the customer taking a screen shot of the error and pasting that into an email and then sending that off to me manually.

What I would like to happen is as follows. When the user hits an error, on clicking the end button, a piece of code gets activated after which the details of the error are inserted into the body of an email. I would need to capture the error number, message, form that trapped the error and any other useful details that can be captured. The support@xyz.com would get inserted into the To field of the email.

I guess this would need to be a global function which would get called at the end of every on error event. I guess I would also need to build it into every routine and procedure that I have written in VB.

If could let me have some ideas that would be great.

Thanks,

Evan

 

[Banaticus]

Please don't, I hate when programs do that. See, I use Gmail for my email. I have Google Talk set up so that when I click on an email address it will open up a Gmail window for me to type the message in.

But it's not tied in as the default Windows email program.

So, programs will try to send me an email and try to find Outlook and I've deleted it from my system.

Most annoying.

 

[Laurentech]

I have my errors write an entry to an errorlog table. I can then log in to the DB and check it occasionally.

Larry

 

[Banaticus]

I think ejhatch would like to sell his product commercially. That would preclude the ability to log into a database and check out an error table.

 

[ejhatch]

Hi All,

Thanks for the comments. Yes, I would like to sell the product so that would preclude me from getting into the various copies of the databases.

Perhaps I could write the error messages into a table or form which the user could email to me whenever they hit an error.

Thanks,

Evan

 

[ghudson]

You should not try to automate an error email function if the db is not used "in-house".

 

[Pauldohert]

gHudson

Why not?

 

[ghudson]

Let me rephrase that...

You should not try to automate a "stealth" error email function if the db is not used "in-house".

That would be similar to spyware if the user is not made aware that your program is trying to contact the programmer [somebody]. Just does not sound ethical.

 

[Banaticus]

It didn't sound to me like he wants a stealth function. I think ejhatch is looking for something like this:
How to use Automation to send a Microsoft Outlook message using Access 2000

Anyone have any other ideas on how to do this that doesn't involve Outlook? Seriously, I'm tired of programs that throw an error then try to open Outlook ... when I don't have Outlook and don't want it.

 

[ghudson]

I'm tired of programs that throw an error then try to open Outlook ... when I don't have Outlook and don't want it.

You will always have that problem since you do not a true default email program defined that Windows recognizes as an email program.

From IE... Tools / Internet Options / Programs / Email = ?

 

[ejhatch]

Hi All,

Thanks for the advice and comments.

If I decided to use this method it would definitely be done in the foreground so that the user was completely aware of what was being mailed out.

I understand the issue if a user does not have a default email client set up to be used.

I might try an alternative and get the error details written to a text file. I could then get the user to email me the file as an attachment with whatever email program that they are using.

This would save the user having to try and remember the error, when he/she got it etc.

More thought required on this one.

Thanks,

Evan