Form not displaying controls

[clarkw]

I have a front-end application that contains various different objects (forms, queries, tables, etc) opened via a switchboard. After users log in, all can view most objects w/out issue indicating there are no problems w/ permissions or linkages to the back-end file. However, some users are unable to see form controls after opening a form, rendering the form and database dysfunctional; this occurred both with and without data in underlying tables. All users have Access 2013 and I can't figure out why this only happens to certain users; my best guess is that there is an underlying system setting causing a compatibility issue. I had my test subject perform all Windows Updates thinking maybe there's a runtime version issue, but he's still experiencing the same problem. Fresh out of ideas to chase after. Any thoughts on what could be happening or how to troubleshoot this?

 

[Micron]

I presume everyone has the same monitor size and resolution settings, so this is not an issue related to running out of screen real estate?
If that's not the issue, is the visibility of the missing controls determined via code, based on some user profile property? If so, try stepping through the code as that user. How you do this depends. You may be need to duplicate the user's rights by creating a dummy profile in your users table, provided that user validation code doesn't compare user data (such as Windows Login Name) in a way that prevents this. Otherwise you could step through the code after you've logged in to Windows as that user. That might make the working copy of your db inaccessible, since I always kept it in a place where the users had no permissions.

 

[clarkw]

No, all objects are sizable so real estate isnt an issue. The only code used is to open the various objects, no user restrictions aside from the initial log-in and all users can still view other object types such as tables, queries, reports, etc so its linking to the back-end just fine. From what I've been able to determine, it likely has to do w/ the network server and probably some type of embedded setting, but I am not a network person and have zero idea of where to start.

 

[Micron]

After reading again, not clear if some or all of the controls on the problem form are not visible.

it likely has to do w/ the network server

I kind of doubt it. IF it were a matter of network permissions, then the db code must be hiding/displaying objects based on some aspect of that. Also unclear if you developed this db and know it well or not. Is there any chance that one particular user has an outdated version that doesn't have these controls on the problem form - assuming you're not sharing a single front end (which you should not be)?

 

[clarkw]

- All controls are not visible; only thing visible is text in the Form Header, rest of form is completely blank.
- I am the developer and know the db well (although I only consider myself a novice/intermediate level skill-wise)
- Folks are downloading a distributable file and saving the front-end locally on their PCs
- I just tried a custom install w/ a version that has full permissions: one person still has the same problem while another has no problems when using the same process (and file version) to install on each computer which leads me to believe it is potentially specific to this individual's computer settings, but again, this is way outside my area of comfort. Also confused as to why all users were previously having issues (using the distributable file), but now only one user experiences these problems. It is possible the problem-user inadvertently corrupted the file rendering it broken for everyone who downloaded it after the fact, but no such problem seemed to occur w/ other user following custom install. I'm at a loss... and thanks for your attention to my query.

 

[Micron]

From what I read, sometimes it is/was one person, sometimes everyone. No doubt you keep a backup working copy, so I'd start with a new db and import everything into it from the old, force a decompile (a minor code revision would enable this), compact/repair and use it to replace the current distributable file. If your process is to copy the FE to user's local pc, then they cannot corrupt the source file which means they cannot cause anyone else to download a corrupt file.

The challenge here can be huge and the approach has to be methodical. Part of the testing should be to try to eliminate hardware, so a problem user should attempt the process on one or more pc's where its usual user is not experiencing issues. If they have issues on one or more pc's where problems are not normal, my tendency would be to focus on the user's profile or incorrect use of the db (something that might promote corruption, such as abnormal termination). If users who experience no issues log onto the pc of the person who does, then likely it's hardware related. Since you say there's no code that could be causing this, I lean towards a corrupt source file since it seemed to be random at one time.

 

[clarkw]

Thanks again for your response, Micron. Upon further testing, it seems like the problems may be user-specific and it is likely that user inadvertently corrupted the distributable file. Using a different installation file and process got the db to function properly for other users, even the problem user can now see and use the data entry form w/ all controls; however, now this user's data won't write to the back-end tables when entering data. As such, I am somewhat relieved that it is likely NOT the file or objects w/in the db, I just need to figure out how to troubleshoot the problem computer. I've reached out to my IT dept for assistance w/ user, network and system settings to see if we can zero-in on the problem.

My only other thought is that it could maybe be an issue w/ the Runtime version packaged w/ his software that isn't updating properly as the problems he's experiencing are consistent w/ Runtime versioning issues I've seen described by other users. Anyone familiar w/ Runtime compatibility issues? Or, how about where to look to see what version of Runtime we're running? Hoping my IT guy can enlighten me on these things...

Thanks again for your help.

 

[Micron]

I've never used Runtime, so can't help there. Sorry.