MS Access 97 Error Search Tool

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Introduction
System Requirements
Installing the Error Search Tool
Using the Error Search Tool
Troubleshooting

Introduction

The Error Search Tool Add-In for Microsoft Access 97 is designed to provide users of Microsoft Access with a resource for locating error descriptions and error numbers as well as the help topics pertaining to those error messages (help topic feature only available for Access 8.0 and Jet 3.5 error messages). The tool can also be used by developers to take notes on individual errors and record relevant Knowledge Base articles pertaining to individual error messages.

System Requirements

The Error Search Tool Add-In for Microsoft Access 97 requires that you have Microsoft Access 97 installed on your computer or that you have a workstation installation of Microsoft Access 97. For complete functionality the tool also requires that the following two help files be installed on your computer:

  • VEENLR3.HLP

  • JETERR35.HLP

If you are not certain both of these files are installed onto your computer you may search for them; from the Start menu choose Find Files or Folders. If the files are not installed they may be installed by running the Microsoft Access 97 or the Microsoft Office 97 setup program in Maintenance mode and selecting Add/Remove components. They will be installed by selecting the "Help Topics" category.

In order for the Hyperlink features to work properly you must have access to the internet from your PC or workstation.

Warning: You cannot use the Error Search Tool in a previous release of Microsoft Access. The reliability of the tool is not guaranteed in any future release of Microsoft Access.

Installing the Error Search Tool

The following instructions will take you step by step through installing the Error Search Tool Add-In for Microsoft Access for Windows 95.

  1. Copy the ErrTool97.MDA, the ErrTool97.Hlp and ErrTool97.Cnt files to your Office sub-directory or wherever the Microsoft Access executable file is located. By default this directory is usually located in the following location "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office 97\Office".

  2. In Microsoft Access 97 open an existing database or create a new one.

  3. From the Tools menu, select Add-Ins, then select Add-In Manager. This will open the Add-In Manager.

  4. From the available Add-Ins check the box for "Error Search Tool 97" . If "Error Search Tool 97" is not an available Add-In, select Add New and locate the ErrTool97.Mda file on your hard drive.

  5. Close the Add-In Manager.

  6. From the Tools menu, select Add-Ins, then select Error Search Tool 97 to launch the Error Search Tool Add-In.

Using the Error Search Tool

The "Error Search" dialog will be the first item on your screen when you open the Error Search Tool. To use the Error Search Tool:

  • Enter a keyword(s) or an error number to search for.

  • Select to search by either Error Text or Error Number.

  • Select a Product/Technology to search in. By default the Error Search Tool contains error information for the following products and technologies:

    Microsoft Access 97 (version 8.0)

    Microsoft Access for Windows 95 (version 7.0)

    Microsoft Access version 2.0

    Microsoft Jet 3.0

    ODBC 16-bit

    Microsoft Access 7.0 Setup Wizard

  • Click the "Search" button to begin your search.

If the Error Search Tool locates any error messages which matched your criteria it will open the "Search Results" form displaying your results.

From the "Search Results" form you may either view "Error Details" or view the "Help Topic" for the selected error message.

Note: The "Help Topic" button is only enabled for Access 97/8.0 and Jet 3.5 error messages.

The "Error Details" offers a place for you to keep custom notes for each error message. It will also allow you to record Microsoft Knowledge Base article numbers and titles for future reference.

Credits

Project Coordinator:

Rob Jacik

VBA Class Coordinator:

Dana McKittrick

Programmers:

Rob Jacik, Steven Parsons, Dana McKittrick, Tabitha Barham, and Cary Russell.

Inspiration:

Sam Hollingsworth

The Error Search Tool was a project designed by the attendees of the VBA General Programming Class provided for Microsoft Access support engineers. There were many participants throughout the process that contributed in a variety of ways and we hope not to forget anyone. It was a great collaborative effort, which would not have been possible without the contributions of everyone. Thanks to everyone! Special Thanks to the following people who contributed to the project in many different ways: Dale Dixon, James Jernigan, Glen Hero, Ken Jones, Michael Moody, Will Parkinson, Paul Kaiser and Marcie Davis.

Search For

On the Search screen you may enter either the exact error number you are receiving or a text string from the error message. If you choose to search on the error number be sure to select the appropriate option on the Scope of Search option group.

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Help on Searching: When searching for an error message you may want to locate all messages that begin with a word or portion of a word. The Error Search Tool searches for the occurrence of all strings entered in the Search For text box. For example searching on the word "data" will return all error messages containing the words such as "Data" or "Database". Searching on the word "array" returns error messages containing "array" or "Isarray".

Search Results

The Search Results dialog box will open automatically after completing the error search criteria and hitting the Search button. The dialog box will display your search criteria, the scope of the search and the search results including the error number and error text. If you desire additional information about the error messages found, highlight the appropriate error and select the Error Details button.

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Error Details

The Error Detail screen displays the selected error from the Search Results dialog box. It displays the error number and the error text. Users of the Error Search Tool may also enter personal notes on the error as well as record related Microsoft Knowledge Base articles.

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The Microsoft Knowledge Base can be found at our world wide web site, https://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=FH;EN-US;KBHOWTO&sd=GN&ln=EN-US. The article title field is a hyperlink data type, thus you may enter an article title and web address which will allow Access to automatically locate the appropriate article on the world wide web. If you do not specify a hyperlink address, the title of the article becomes the address and you will receive an error trying to follow the link. A proper entry for the hyperlink field would be entered as follows:

How to Fill an Array Using Access Basic https://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=FH;EN-US;KBHOWTO&sd=GN&ln=EN-US

For more information on using hyperlink fields search the Microsoft Access 97 on-line help file or ask the Office Assistant.

The Microsoft Knowledge Base is also located on Technet.

Troubleshooting

"Invalid Use of Null 94"

Clicking on the "Help Topics" button in either the 'Search Results' or 'Error Details' screen causes this error . This error is caused if the VBA help file was not installed (VEENLR3.HLP). This file is not installed by default during some installations of Microsoft Access. In order to resolve the error run the Microsoft Access 97 or the Microsoft Office 97 Professional setup program in Maintenance mode, choose to Add/Remove components and check the option to install "Help Topics".

"An error exists in this help file. Contact your application vendor for an updated help file. (1024)"

This error occurs when clicking on the "Help Topic" button on either the 'Search Results' or 'Error Details' screen. This error is caused by a known problem with the Windows help Engine. It will not adversely effect the Error Search Tool and will hopefully be resolved with a future release of the Error Search Tool.

The topic does not exist. Contact your application vendor for an updated Help file. (129).

This error occurs when clicking on the "Help Topic" button on either the 'Search Results' or 'Error Details' screen. This error is caused by some error numbers which appear to have Help Topics but do not. This error simply means there is no help topic for the specified error message. This error will have no adverse effect on the Error Search Tool.

Microsoft Access can't find the wizard, or there is a syntax error in the Declarations section of a Visual Basic module.

This error will most likely occur if the Error Search Tool is not located in the same directory as the Microsoft Access 97 executable. Be sure the ErrTool97.MDA file is located in the same subdirectory as the MSACCESS.EXE file for Access 97. This directory by default is: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office 97\Office.

This error will also occur if the ErrTool97.Mda file has been deleted or renamed or if there is a problem with the Windows Registry.