Can't Open Navigation Pane

[JeffGeorge]

I've inherited an Access 2000 database that is used to enter and print various types of data. I am using Access 2010 and when I open it I am in a forms view for the main user interface. I want to see and/or edit the objects that make up this database but I can't find a way to see them. The navigation pane is not visible and using F11 doesn't open it. How can I see the database objects?

[ItsMe]

What is the file extension of your DB? I can't remember the F key shortcut, have you tried holding down the shift key during startup? Can you see table objects in the Nav Pane?

[JeffGeorge]

It's an .mdb extension. Holding down the shift key didn't help. It initially goes to a password screen, which it validates against a table in the database (though it doesn't ask for a username so you can get into the database by using any valid password). I can't see any objects in the nav pane because I can't even see the nav pane.

[ItsMe]

Sounds like the developer used code to bypass the shift key.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/826765

[Bob Fitz]

Just in case it's of any help I have attached a db (written and developed by some one else).
It just makes setting the property a little easier. (IMO)

[JeffGeorge]

I found the following bit of code

strPropName = "AllowBypassKey"
    Set dbs = CurrentDb
    On Error GoTo Change_Err
    dbs.Properties(strPropName) = False 'False can't override startup  'True can override startup'
    'ChangeProperty = False

I changed the False to True and I can successfully bypass the password screen and see the nav pane with objects. Thanks, guys!

[JeffGeorge]

It looks like I jumped the gun a bit. After going back into the database it's right back where I started, even though I made the above change (which worked at first). Another odd thing now is that no one else can open the database, just me. When the users enter the production version they go nowhere after putting in their password. They are just dead in the water. If they try the development version they get an ODBC connection failed error, even though the ODBC connection tests fine on the workstation. Any ideas? Apparently, this is a mission critical database I've experimented with. I'm tempted to just restore from backup from a couple of nights ago.

[ItsMe]

In a copy of the goofed DB, reverse what you did.

[JeffGeorge]

That didn't do anything. Not only am I back to not being able to see the database objects, now no one else can even open the database. Strange. I wonder if it's just a server issue coincidence.

[ItsMe]

It is very difficult to say. The fact that you were able to write VBA, save it, and execute it, tells me that you have access to the VBA modules. Perhaps looking at the code in the splash form will glean knowledge as to why the DB decided to not allow users to log in.

Post the code you executed and then post the code you used to try to reverse your changes.

[JeffGeorge]

Something interesting is happening. I removed the ODBC connection from the user's workstation and tried recreating it. This time it said that access was denied. Could this have something to do with me updating the DSN from within the database?

[ItsMe]

If you do not use the correct DSN "Name" the connection will not work. Please post the code you applied so we can have insight and not just offer "best guesses".

[JeffGeorge]

It seems that it actually was the DSN name. I had slightly changed it for my workstation, not realizing the effect it would have. Once in the database I updated through the Linked Table Manager, which made it work for me but not for anyone else.

[ItsMe]

Make sure the users have a valid copy of the front end file. For linking tables, I recommend employing the Universal Naming Convention (UNC) by browsing through the "Entire Network" to select the directory to the BE file. Avoid using mapped drives when possible.

[JeffGeorge]

I'm back on this again. The ODBC errors are fixed but I'm still not able to access the nav pane and database objects in one of the databases. In the other I can see the nav pane without a problem.

I have the code I pasted earlier to look like this in both of the files:

strPropName = "AllowBypassKey"
    Set dbs = CurrentDb
    On Error GoTo Change_Err
    dbs.Properties(strPropName) = True 'False can't override startup  'True can override startup'
    'ChangeProperty = False

This is the only thing I've changed in either database's Visual Basic code. Why would it work for one database and not another? Have I overlooked something?