Database options - on a budget

[Ally1205]

Hi all,
In a newly-formed leisure organisation, I have the job of managing members' personal details, recording their answers to questionnaire questions, keeping track of their donations, etc. The organisation is run by volunteers. none of whom are affluent; we're all on a tight budget. I'm looking at what are my best options regarding the choice of database software. I used to be fairly competent, using MS Access 95. The latest version of MS Access I have now, is Access 2000. As an alternative, I could choose one of the open-source options such as OO Base. I've just been having a look OO Base, but it seems less configurable than Access 2000. In your opinion, would I better-off using Access 2000 or OO Base? My past experience of MS Access 95 was that it was a pleasure to use, but was dismayed to find that Access 2000 could not open my earlier Access files - so the hazards of upgradability are a concern. I certainly can't afford to buy every new version of MS-Office Pro that comes out.

The main things I need from a database program is for it to have relational capabilities, and it must be easy to design envelope-printing and label-printing reports that can be triggered from a form. I found Access2000's report-designing facilities a bit strange, and the VB code thing is kind of cryptic for a layman like me. It also needs to be reliable.

Thanks for any advice.


A

[rpeare]

You should be able to open your Access 95 database in access 2000 unless the database became corrupt somehow. There shouldn't even need to be any conversion.

I've messed around with OO base but because I'm so familiar with Access it was a bit more of a pain in the butt to produce something I was happy with. The problem with version of Access prior to 2007 is that you had to have either a developers license so you could install run time components or you had to have ms office installed to work with a database. If your office has the necessary licenses for access 2000 I'd stick with that. As far as I know access 97 will still work on any 'modern' computer if it's installed (I have a computer at home with access 2000 running on a vista machine for instance). so you shouldn't have any conflicts between versions of windows and versions of access.

The main draw of OO base is that it's open source and anyone can install and use it. I haven't worked with it enough to tell you any negatives though, but I prefer Access simply because there is much more support available for it (for instance these forums).

[Ally1205]

You should be able to open your Access 95 database in access 2000 unless the database became corrupt somehow. There shouldn't even need to be any conversion.

Thanks for the reply! That's interesting. WhanI try and open my old Access database, I get the error message:

Then, if I click 'OK' I get the following message:

(I hope the above images will expand when clicked - I've never tried posting images here before). If I try to compact+repair, I get the following message:

I'm not sure what the "aabn" stated at top left of each message refers to. There is nothing within my access database called "aabn", but 'aabn' was certainly a string I often used in names of other programs' files I was using when I was last using the database, such as Excel, Word, and CorelDraw.
Is there a way to salvage this old database? Thanks for any help.

A

[rpeare]

That can be any number of things the most easily remedied is probably a missing reference but you'd have to know what the broken reference was to.

So for instance if you were able to tell what line of code was choking when you got that error message you'd be able to track down the function/module and from there probably be able to determine which reference was missing. For instance if you were referring to excel object (worksheet, sheet, cell) you'd want to have a reference to Microsoft Excel <version> Objects. If that were missing and you were attempting to reference an excel object you'd get that kind of error.

If you are getting that message when you open your table there is some function/code that is trying to run in the ON OPEN or ON LOAD property of your main form if you can get to the design view of the form and comment out everything then re-open the form you can at least get it open. From there you can start enabling little bits of the code to see where it starts breaking and figure it out from there. Without know what the code is or where in the code it's breaking it's going to be hard to tell you more than that.

[June7]

Try holding down the shift key as you open the file. This should override code execution then you can explore the db for the issues described by rpeare. Look for an AutoExec macro. Also, a default form in the database options that could have code in its Open or Load or Current event.

aabn might be name assigned to the database (not necessarily same as the file name) in the database properties.

If you want to provide db, I will take a look. Follow instructions at bottom of my post.

[Ally1205]

Try holding down the shift key as you open the file. This should override code execution then you can explore the db for the issues described by rpeare. Look for an AutoExec macro. Also, a default form in the database options that could have code in its Open or Load or Current event.

aabn might be name assigned to the database (not necessarily same as the file name) in the database properties.

If you want to provide db, I will take a look. Follow instructions at bottom of my post.

I held down the shift key, and the database opened normally and seems to work properly! Thank you for that wonderfully helpful tip! I will try to locate the errant code. Otherwise, is there any problem with me just pressing the shift key every time I open the database? I no longer use this database on a daily basis, as I used to, five years ago. I just need it occasionally because it contains all my many contact names, addresses etc. There is a possibility I may need to use it on a daily basis at some point in the future, but not immediately.

[Ally1205]

That can be any number of things the most easily remedied is probably a missing reference but you'd have to know what the broken reference was to.

So for instance if you were able to tell what line of code was choking when you got that error message you'd be able to track down the function/module and from there probably be able to determine which reference was missing. For instance if you were referring to excel object (worksheet, sheet, cell) you'd want to have a reference to Microsoft Excel <version> Objects. If that were missing and you were attempting to reference an excel object you'd get that kind of error.

If you are getting that message when you open your table there is some function/code that is trying to run in the ON OPEN or ON LOAD property of your main form if you can get to the design view of the form and comment out everything then re-open the form you can at least get it open. From there you can start enabling little bits of the code to see where it starts breaking and figure it out from there. Without know what the code is or where in the code it's breaking it's going to be hard to tell you more than that.

Thank you for your help. Holding the shift key when opening the database, enabled me to open the database, seemingly normally. (Thanks to June7 for that useful tip!) The database *seems* to be running normally after I thus open it. I guess that if I notice anything not working as it should (such as when I click a form button, etc.) then that will give me a strong clue as to where to look for the faulty code. I'm afraid that most of what I knew about coding and event procedures, has faded from my memory, but if something actually fails to work properly, I may be motivated to delve into the reasons, and sort it out. In the mean time, I am delighted to have access to the main table. Is it possible to export the table alone, or copy the table and paste it into a new, virgin database, just as a safety measure?

[ssanfu]

The things I would check first:

Open the A95 dB, holding down the shift key.
In the database window, click on MACROS. Is there an "Autoexec" macro? If so, rename it to something else... maybe "NON-Autoexec"

Next, on the menu bar - TOOLS/StartUp. Is there an entry for the combo box "Display Form/Page"? If so, remove it. Also, ensure that "Display Database Window" has a check mark.

One of these two things would be the place I would start troubleshooting.

Close and reopen the dB - you shouldn't have to hold the shift key....

[Ally1205]

The things I would check first:

Open the A95 dB, holding down the shift key.
In the database window, click on MACROS. Is there an "Autoexec" macro? If so, rename it to something else... maybe "NON-Autoexec".

Thanks, Steve! When I saw the above, I remembered that there is indeed an 'autoexec' macro within the application. Unfortunately, A2000 doesn't seem to give me the option of renaming it. So I tried opening the macro in design view, but got:

Then, when I tried converting the database in A2000, I get:

Then, after I click OK, I get:


BTW, I don't know how I managed to do use the application without hitches yesterday, but now, when I open the app when holding the shift key, all goes well until I try to open the form. Then I get:

[rpeare]

The shift key opens the database and skips whatever startup items you had (autoexec macro or opening a form that has an ON OPEN or ON LOAD event) The reason you didn't experience any problems yesterday is that these weren't loading.

If you follow my previous instructions (starting a new database and import items from your old one to the new, blank database) you should be able to get a working version of the database. You will still need to look at your modules, it looks like this aabn code is your central issue and without knowing what that code is it's hard to give you direction.

[June7]

Must be some code in that form Open or Load or Current (if bound form) event. Look into the code (macro or VBA) for those events. Refer to link at bottom of my post for debug guidelines. If you want to post db, maybe someone here will have time to look at.

[Ally1205]

Must be some code in that form Open or Load or Current (if bound form) event. Look into the code (macro or VBA) for those events. Refer to link at bottom of my post for debug guidelines. If you want to post db, maybe someone here will have time to look at.

It's kind of you to offer. Unfortunately the data in the table is restricted info and I can't legally share it. The application in toto is pretty complicated; there are over a hundred different queries, and forms with sub forms, and charts/graphs, and some pretty involved formulas. I developed it over several years, with input from my brother, a mathematician. As I no longer need to use this database application constantly, I can't justify spending more time on restoring it to its former functionality. Just having access to the data in the main table again is all I really need at present. It is great to have that data accessible again.

Anyway, I really appreciate the help from yourself, rpeare and sanfu... If I ever need to use that application's full functionality again, I now have a clue how to restore it. I am in a different occupation now, and I am using a completely new Access database application - one that is MUCH simpler!

Best regards,
A