J
Joe Osako
I have a two-table database and a data entry form which I
created for a client in Access 2K, a very simple layout
consisting of a title, an image, and a tabbed group
containing about two dozen simple bound entries. I am
having a few problems, which are all the more puzzling
since they only occur on the client's system - I haven't
been able to reproduce them on my development box. While I
haven't ruled out the possibility that they are due to
configuration problems on the system itself, I would rather
see if they occur elsewhere, and see what the solution is.
The form in question is for a database of artworks for a
private collector, and the key requirement was the image
control to show a picture of the object in question. In
researching the problem, I found three different ways to
bind an image to the database. I used the simplest
solution, namely a simple bound OLE image control,
primarily because a) it was the simplest approach, and I
was under a tight time schedule, and b) because, unlike the
other two approaches (storing a hyperlink to the image and
then displaying it at run time with an external viewer, or
else storing the image file as a BLOB and then doing same),
it would allow the user to cut and paste the image to the
control, which they had specifically requested the program
do. There had been warnings about problems with this
approach, and I did have some problem with it in
development: images copied from certain applications,
notably MS Paint, it returned a 'not an OLE object error,
regardless of the file type. Nonetheless, it worked
consistently when copying from a web browser window on my
development platform.
However, when I installed a copy on the user's machine, it
wouldn't paste *anything*. (As an aside, I should mention
that it doesn't support the alt-click menu for pasting - to
paste something, you have to select the image control and
then either choose paste from the menu, or else use crtl-v;
this is what I as an Access developer knew would happen,
but it was a bit confusing to the client, as it happens.)
A second problem arose when the user went to enter some
data: he found that, when he tabbed from the first to the
second tabbed section, the program would freeze up
entirely, and the process had to be killed. I had not
experienced anything of this sort on my own machine. Since
the client's computer is several years newer, and
presumably is faster and has more memory than mine (shame
on me); I would have to get the details from him to be
certain.
Both my machine and his are running XP, though I have my UI
set to the older Windows 98 style rather than the
red-and-blue XP style the client's computer uses. The
user's machine also uses large fonts and icons set (both he
and his wife have some vision problems), and he mentioned
that there might have been some Registry problems; the
system certainly felt sluggish overall, which leads me to
suspect the presence of spyware or some similar problem,
but I was not able to test it at the time.
Any suggestions? Since the latter isn't necessarily an
Access issue, I am mostly looking for help on the image
issues, esp. any help on a more efficient and less
problematic solution that still allows the user tocut and
paste the image rather than browse for the file name. The
client is insistent on this point, and will not consider
the project completed otherwise.
created for a client in Access 2K, a very simple layout
consisting of a title, an image, and a tabbed group
containing about two dozen simple bound entries. I am
having a few problems, which are all the more puzzling
since they only occur on the client's system - I haven't
been able to reproduce them on my development box. While I
haven't ruled out the possibility that they are due to
configuration problems on the system itself, I would rather
see if they occur elsewhere, and see what the solution is.
The form in question is for a database of artworks for a
private collector, and the key requirement was the image
control to show a picture of the object in question. In
researching the problem, I found three different ways to
bind an image to the database. I used the simplest
solution, namely a simple bound OLE image control,
primarily because a) it was the simplest approach, and I
was under a tight time schedule, and b) because, unlike the
other two approaches (storing a hyperlink to the image and
then displaying it at run time with an external viewer, or
else storing the image file as a BLOB and then doing same),
it would allow the user to cut and paste the image to the
control, which they had specifically requested the program
do. There had been warnings about problems with this
approach, and I did have some problem with it in
development: images copied from certain applications,
notably MS Paint, it returned a 'not an OLE object error,
regardless of the file type. Nonetheless, it worked
consistently when copying from a web browser window on my
development platform.
However, when I installed a copy on the user's machine, it
wouldn't paste *anything*. (As an aside, I should mention
that it doesn't support the alt-click menu for pasting - to
paste something, you have to select the image control and
then either choose paste from the menu, or else use crtl-v;
this is what I as an Access developer knew would happen,
but it was a bit confusing to the client, as it happens.)
A second problem arose when the user went to enter some
data: he found that, when he tabbed from the first to the
second tabbed section, the program would freeze up
entirely, and the process had to be killed. I had not
experienced anything of this sort on my own machine. Since
the client's computer is several years newer, and
presumably is faster and has more memory than mine (shame
on me); I would have to get the details from him to be
certain.
Both my machine and his are running XP, though I have my UI
set to the older Windows 98 style rather than the
red-and-blue XP style the client's computer uses. The
user's machine also uses large fonts and icons set (both he
and his wife have some vision problems), and he mentioned
that there might have been some Registry problems; the
system certainly felt sluggish overall, which leads me to
suspect the presence of spyware or some similar problem,
but I was not able to test it at the time.
Any suggestions? Since the latter isn't necessarily an
Access issue, I am mostly looking for help on the image
issues, esp. any help on a more efficient and less
problematic solution that still allows the user tocut and
paste the image rather than browse for the file name. The
client is insistent on this point, and will not consider
the project completed otherwise.