screen update freezes

[Niels Verkaart]

Hi all,
In our application there are many processes that take more than 5 seconds to
complete (eg imports and exports). In these cases we present users with
status screens like showing text what is going on or a progressbar.
After 5-10 seconds these screens freeze while the program is still doing
it's work and sets the properties for the status screens (or at least it
tries to do that). When the process finishes the screen is at last updated
to the last status text action, but doesn't close.
This behaviour is reported from the beginning of this project. Also, when we
ctrl-break into the code and continue processing, it does work all the way.
Does anyone know of this behaviour and maybe have a solution?

Thanks,
Niels Verkaart
Valance Media Software
Lead Programmer

 

[Michel Walsh]

Hi,


Painting is a low priority process. So it may be due to intensive
computation or intensive use of a higher priority process, which delay
painting (of the screen) and timers (to fire) until no other higher priority
task has to be done.

If VBA code is the cause of the higher priority task, sometimes, a DoEvents
could help to quench the message queue, since only then painting and timer
would be given a chance to be done. Otherwise, if you can also try to give a
lightly better priority to Access in general (through the OS task manager,
or, through code, see http://www.mvps.org/access/api/api0059.htm )


It is also possible that the developer has decided to freeze the update of
the screen (to avoid flickering or other undesirable effect, such as a form
going from normal view, to design view and back in normal view). In such
case, consider the behavior to be "by design".


Hoping it may help,
Vanderghast, Access MVP