Access 2003 Forms Flickering

[kiln]

I have forms that flicker badly when run in Access 2003, but not in 2002
or 2000. The flickering occurs when the mouse is passed over some
textboxes, not 100% consistently but it's very annoying. Move the mouse
around the form and it quivers. The flickers occur if db has been
converted to A2002/2003, or to A2000, as long as it's running in Access
2003. I'm hoping that there is some "clever" new visual trick that
Microsoft embedded in A2003 forms that I can switch off...there are some
new effects, such as the way tab control's tabs get a bit of a highlight
when the mouse moves over them.

 

[Jeff Conrad]

I have forms that flicker badly when run in Access 2003, but not in 2002
or 2000. The flickering occurs when the mouse is passed over some
textboxes, not 100% consistently but it's very annoying. Move the mouse
around the form and it quivers. The flickers occur if db has been
converted to A2002/2003, or to A2000, as long as it's running in Access
2003. I'm hoping that there is some "clever" new visual trick that
Microsoft embedded in A2003 forms that I can switch off...there are some
new effects, such as the way tab control's tabs get a bit of a highlight
when the mouse moves over them.

See:
http://members.iinet.net.au/~allenbrowne/ser-46.html

 

[kiln]

Thanks

See:
http://members.iinet.net.au/~allenbrowne/ser-46.html

 

[kiln]

I think a better fix for this bug is to attach the unattached labels to
textboxes that are locked and disabled, transparent borders and
backcolor, sized to stay out of the way.

This bug is another pitiful example of the incredibly inept level of
programming that the Microsoft team has been assigning to Access over
the last couple of years. You get the impression that changes to Access
are made casually, by someone who is quite clueless. This bug, the
autonumber bug that was introduced with the seed resetting ability. Come
on. Get an intelligent adult involved over there.

 

[Jeff Conrad]

I think a better fix for this bug is to attach the unattached labels to
textboxes that are locked and disabled, transparent borders and
backcolor, sized to stay out of the way.

Allen's solution is just one possible way around the issue. There
are other methods which you have discovered.

This bug is another pitiful example of the incredibly inept level of
programming that the Microsoft team has been assigning to Access over
the last couple of years. You get the impression that changes to Access
are made casually, by someone who is quite clueless. This bug, the
autonumber bug that was introduced with the seed resetting ability. Come
on. Get an intelligent adult involved over there.

I can't speak for Microsoft, but with hundreds of thousands of lines of
code in Access alone, millions of lines of code for various operating
systems, different software configurations, millions of lines of code for
various other Office applications, there are bound to be things missed.
People are human and make mistakes. I can write ten lines of code and
make ten mistakes! It happens.

 

[Fred Boer]

People are human and make mistakes. I can write ten lines of code and make

ten mistakes! It happens.

See, Jeff, I *told* you that you could improve! <g,d & r>

Fred

 

[Jeff Conrad]

See, Jeff, I *told* you that you could improve! <g,d & r>

LOL!!
True, very true.

 

[kiln]

Allen's solution is just one possible way around the issue. There
are other methods which you have discovered.


I can't speak for Microsoft, but with hundreds of thousands of lines of
code in Access alone, millions of lines of code for various operating
systems, different software configurations, millions of lines of code for
various other Office applications, there are bound to be things missed.
People are human and make mistakes. I can write ten lines of code and
make ten mistakes! It happens.

These are major errors and oversights on the part of Microsoft. Sure
everyone makes mistakes. No one will ever expect Access or any other
major package to be entirely bug free. But c'mon, do you think any
programmer with a half a clue could intro the label bug in 2003 and not
even notice it? Do you think they made any sort of tests before sending
out the 2003 ver of Access with this sort of obvoious bungling so
evident? Impossible. I'd normally expect this level of programming and
QA out of a new high school programmer, and one that isn't particularly
interested in what they are doing. It's just trash. Making excuses for
Microsoft's gross carelessness, is something approximating stupid. No I
don't mean you are stupid and I appreciate your help but if Access
developers can't even bring Microsoft to task for fouling up the
product, they deserve this sort of thing.

Make no mistake, the only reason that bugs like autonumber and labels
happen is that the programmers that are currently working on Access at
Microsoft are not competent, and are not immersed in the product. They
are just tossing in spiffy glitz and breaking core aspects while doing
it. They don't even notice the breakage because they don't have a QA
process in place, don't use Access to develop anything, and are not held
accountable by anyone, inside or outside of Microsoft.

Sometimes it's pretty damn embarrasing working with Access for a living.

 

[Allen Browne]

kiln, I can hear (and share) your frustration when Access does not work
correctly.

This particular bug is as much a Windows bug as it is an Access one. It has
to do with how Access refreshes the controls under Windows XP themes. As
annoying (and unprofessional looking) as the flicker is, it is not the worst
kind of bug.

A2003 did have much testing, at many levels, and - provided you avoid a
short list of known bugs - it is arguably the most stable version of Access
ever released. MS has been working on the bugs that make Access crash, using
the bug reports that regularly arrive, and they deserve credit for that.

The worst kind of bugs are not the cosmetic ones, and not even the ones
where it crashes so you know something went wrong. The most insidious bugs
are those where the software yields incorrect results, and there is no
indication that the results it gives you are wrong. I really wish there was
a way to get MS to fix *those* bugs, such as:
http://allenbrowne.com/bug-08.html