"invisible" box on form in layout view

[mistyinca1970]

Can someone tell me what this red dotted box is? This is on a form within a navigation form. This shows in layout view, and it doesn't appear on any other form in the navigation form. I also do not see it when I open the target form on its own in layout view. I can't seem to select it. Any ideas?

 

[theDBguy]

Do you still see it when you use a different computer? Just wondering if it's a graphics display issue.

 

[CJ_London]

have you tried opening the target form in design view?

 

[mistyinca1970]

have you tried opening the target form in design view?

Yes. It does not show in design view. So I'm thinking it is part of the navigation form...

 

[The_Doc_Man]

If it shows in Layout view then it is a remnant of something that was built with Layout enabled. You can remove this remnant, which is essentially a "layout box," by "ungrouping" controls on the form.

MS Access 2007: Ungroup controls on a form

This MSAccess tutorial explains how to ungroup controls on a form in Access 2007 (with screenshots and step-by-step instructions). In Microsoft Access 2007, how do I ungroup controls on a Form?

www.techonthenet.com

 

[mistyinca1970]

If it shows in Layout view then it is a remnant of something that was built with Layout enabled. You can remove this remnant, which is essentially a "layout box," by "ungrouping" controls on the form.

MS Access 2007: Ungroup controls on a form

This MSAccess tutorial explains how to ungroup controls on a form in Access 2007 (with screenshots and step-by-step instructions). In Microsoft Access 2007, how do I ungroup controls on a Form?

www.techonthenet.com

I tried that. None of my text boxes or anything have a layout attached to them. When I right click each control and select Layout, there is no option to remove layout.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

OK. Nonetheless, I find it highly suspicious that your "phantom" line exactly aligns with the left edge of the labels in the box where you have circled the line. Maybe research "Remove Layout" and see if you can find a tutorial on getting rid of it. I know it used to make me crazy until I turned layouts off from the File >> Options >> Current Database. Damned if I can recall exactly where it is from there, but I got rid of it because I was using dynamic control placement based on user roles and need that feature to just go away. I'd look a little deeper. BUT I also recall it was hard to "hold my mouth right" to achieve that turnoff.

 

[mistyinca1970]

OK. Nonetheless, I find it highly suspicious that your "phantom" line exactly aligns with the left edge of the labels in the box where you have circled the line. Maybe research "Remove Layout" and see if you can find a tutorial on getting rid of it. I know it used to make me crazy until I turned layouts off from the File >> Options >> Current Database. Damned if I can recall exactly where it is from there, but I got rid of it because I was using dynamic control placement based on user roles and need that feature to just go away. I'd look a little deeper. BUT I also recall it was hard to "hold my mouth right" to achieve that turnoff.

To prove my point, I made a copy of the form so I can mutilate it at will (he he). I started deleting controls one by one, and then I skewed them here so you can see its not a layout.

 

[mistyinca1970]

Well I still don't know why, but I know what it is associated with now. I started rebuilding this form piece by piece and once I added the on load event that opens a form (or not if the recordset is 0) and a msg box, that dotted frame appeared. The addition of none of the controls produced the box. So I guess I live with it. Maybe some skeleton that indicates a form will pop up over this one...?????

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Is there some form that is displayed underneath this one? I.e. is the form you show us an overlay? And is there even the slightest bit of transparency defined for the overlaying form's .BackColor?

Adding an OnLoad event should NOT produce any outline unless it actually opens a form as you describe. That is a binary event. To quote that great philosopher Yoda.... There is no "try"; there is only "Do" or "Not Do."

 

[June7]

You could provide your db for analysis, see if we get the same behavior. I don't recall ever seeing this.

 

[vhung]

To prove my point, I made a copy of the form so I can mutilate it at will (he he). I started deleting controls one by one, and then I skewed them here so you can see its not a layout.
View attachment 93286

That maybe, share your actual form as attach file to have a full view of your form.
Let others see it... share accdb file with that form

 

[Pat Hartman]

I feel so left out. I can't see the red box at all

 

[June7]

It is barely visible in image in original post.

 

[isladogs]

It is barely visible in image in original post.

Its slightly clearer in post #8.
Reminds me of the old dotted square bug from one of Helen Feddema's Access Archon articles from a few years ago.

See attached for further info on that bug

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Yes, in post #8 the red line is visible to me. I seem to recall that it is possible to disconnect something from the layout box without actually removing the box. Which means that Misty's actions to move things around aren't totally definitive at eliminating this as a layout box.

If the original members of the layout group are disconnected but the layout grid is still present, you would get the result she showed in post #8, but if you look carefully at post #1 along the left edges of the labels, that thin red line is there too. I don't know how my old macular degenerated eyes can see that, but I can.

The line overlaps the label or text box that is above the aligned items in #1, that box where the text starts with "Use this form..." - and the line goes horizontally through the bottom quarter of the letters in the first text line of that box. The vertical line rises perfectly aligned with the left edge of the labels but is a very small distance inside the afore-referenced label or text box that is above the other items. If that was a screen capture then to me it is a quite real feature/anomaly.

 

[mistyinca1970]

OK, but as I had updated. I rebuilt the form control by control and the box only appeared after adding the the on load event to open another form in the event that the recordset in the other form is >0. So the box is somehow related to the on load event after the msg box is cleared. So there is no way it is a layout.

 

[June7]

I have never experienced this so no idea how to correct. Again, suggest you provide your db for analysis.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

I know of no way that adding an event routine would affect anything in the graphic interface until the event actually fired, and then it would depend on the content / code of the event routine. The event routines are in general or class modules which do not affect the graphic layout directly. However, the simplest test would be to remove the event routine that you think is the culprit, erase it, and see if the box goes away. There is no linkage between an event routine and the way something is displayed UNLESS the event fires. What was the routine supposed to do?

Back to the original question as stated... does that line show up in any other view? And does it get in the way of anything? If it goes away in Form View and doesn't affect anything including future development, ignore it.

 

[Uncle Gizmo]

It is something that is tempting to describe as a bug!

And there you have it, uncles law, if you think it's a bug, then it's user error, something I have done is causing the issue.

I started rebuilding this form piece by piece and once I added the on load event that opens a form

You have two options, either post this sample database after removing any confidential information.

If it is a laborious task to sanitize the database, then create a very simple version using public data or self-created data. (I usually down a copy of the northwind database and use one of the tables in that)

Then post that.