Access XP-2002 to 2003 issues?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Digital Carnage
  • Start date Start date
D

Digital Carnage

Hi Folks
I built an Access Database beginning with Access XP/2002 which works
great minus a few flaws. Then I upgraded to Office 2003 Pro and allowed it
to use the existing configuration from my XP install. I've manage to fix
the few flaws I mentioned but now I'm getting runtime errors; when I close
the database using the "compact & repair on close" feature, I get an error
stating that I'm apparently trying to access a database that is already open
and I'm not sure if it has affected some of my forms and VB code that seemed
to work just fine before I upgraded. I am saving my databases under the
default 2002, infact it says that right in the title bar. Also, I am able
to opern it up in Access XP on other Win2K Pro machines, but that's where I
seem to get most of my runtime errors. Do I need to hunt for sloppy code
somewhere in my forms or are there known issues already with Access 2003?
Thanks much, Rich
 
The problems with the compact on close feature are not new in Access 2003. I
saw the same problem in Access 2002, and probably in Access 2000, although I
can't remember for sure about Access 2000 now.

I haven't seen any official documentation on this, so what follows is just
my personal opinion, based on my own experience.

It appears to me to be a timing issue - it seems that Access sometimes
attempts to compact the file before it has finished closing or (and I
suspect this *may* be more likely) after it has closed, but before the
operating system has been notified of the closure and released whatever
handles/locks it maintains on an open file.

It tends, in my experience, to happen only with smaller files, presumably
because larger files take longer to close, giving the operating system more
time to 'catch up'.

The best workaround is probably to turn of the compact on close option.
During development, you can compact manually, and you can give your users a
shortcut using the /compact command line switch to compact the database. See
the help topic 'Startup command-line options'.

I can't comment on any other runtime errors you may be experiencing without
more information.
 
Back
Top