Wierd issue with vanishing text

[topher23]

I'm having the strangest issue of invisible text in Access 2003.

I have several unbound textboxes that reference fields in a subform. Once upon a time, they all worked fine, but now they've developed some really peculiar behavior. The text boxes are all blank until the user mouses over one specific text box that evaluates a field in the subform with IIf and displays either the data from the subform or N/A. As soon as the mouse hits that text box, all of the text in the unbound text boxes magically appear!

Unfortunately, the text is all static - if the user changes something in the subform or switches records, the text in the main form remains the same.

Although the data entry folks are responding to this odd behavior with bemused laughter, I'd like to know what the heck is causing the problem. Cutting and pasting the text box controls doesn't help, nor does deleting the magic mouse-over control.

I was looking at prn and Adezii's postings here: (weird-version-dependency-problems)
which are equally wierd text field invisibility issues, but don't provide any answers. :(

[ADezii]

Hello topher23, any chance of Attaching the DB or a segment of it?

[topher23]

Okay, I was finally able to get it to work as a part. I set up the offending form as the startup form. The field that you mouse over is "Difference " up in the header area of the form.

After putting it together like this, suddenly the Shift Length field works properly, but still, none of the other fields work until mousing over the Difference text box. Odd.

Please ignore any ugly code. I inherited this database from a guy who started out with no idea what he was doing. Although I've been fixing snippets here and there, I still run into bits that make me wonder what he was thinking.

[NeoPa]

Let me know how you get on ADezii.

If you need me to I'll have a look at it. Experts do deserve a little extra effort I feel.

[ADezii]

Downloaded thye DB, will look at it tomorrow.

[ADezii]

Hello topher23, just wanted to let you know that I started looking through the Database, and so far have not found anything that would cause this strange anomaly. As you know, I am not a stranger to this weird behavior, since I experienced this sort of thing before, only in reverse (text disappearing with MouseOver). Unfortunately, I never resolved my problem but hopefully we can resolve yours. Maybe we can get NeoPa in on the party, the more eyes the better.

BTW - Save yourself the trouble of Importing all Objects into a New Database, since it will not eliminate this pesky creature! Neither will relocating the affected Controls, elimination of all MouseMove() Events, relocation of IIf() Construct to the Current() Event, recreation of the Controls, etc...

[ADezii]

Let me know how you get on ADezii.

If you need me to I'll have a look at it. Experts do deserve a little extra effort I feel.

Probably could use your help on this one, Olde Buddy!

[topher23]

BTW - Save yourself the trouble of Importing all Objects into a New Database, since it will not eliminate this pesky creature! Neither will relocating the affected Controls, elimination of all MouseMove() Events, relocation of IIf() Construct to the Current() Event, recreation of the Controls, etc...

Haha! Yeah, I've tried most of those to no avail. It does, however, make me perversely happy to knwo that I'm not the only one who has spent far too much time banging his head against a wall trying to figure out this kind of problem!

[ADezii]

It at first would appear that you have Controls (Text Boxes) in the Header of the Main Form whose Control Sources reference Controls (Text Boxes) in the Form Footer Section of the Sub-Form whose Control Sources themselves are not Fields but Aggregates of Sum() and Count() Functions. It's sort of similar to an Expression referencing another Expression. You did say that this used to work, correct?

[NeoPa]

Probably could use your help on this one, Olde Buddy!

I'll download it & have a look over the weekend. I can't promise I'll find anything, and I have no experience with similar stuff as you do ADezii, but I can look anyway and see what I see.

[ADezii]

Thanks NeoPa, probably something we overlooked.

[ADezii]

After many hours, I do believe that I have found the solution, and it is:
For the On Mouse Move Event Property for the Detail Section of the 'Main Form' (frmEntry_Main) , you have the following reference to a Public Function in basUtilities, namely:

[B]=slib_ResetButtonBitmap("frmEntry")[/B]

DELETE THIS LINE and you should be sleeping better at nights (LOL).

P.S. - frmEntry does not exist, and for some Unknown reason, appears to be causing this Anomaly.

[NeoPa]

Well, I finally got back on this afternoon (The local power sub-station was being upgraded and we lost power for two hours while they routed a massive generator through to our power lines - 1,250 KVA I believe.), only to find that ADezii, like a dog with a bone, managed to get to the heart of the issue before I even needed to download the file. Excellent :)

[ADezii]

Only when I get the confirmation from topher23 that this issue has been resolved, will I consider it solved (rhyming not intentional)! (LOL).

[NeoPa]

That's fine :)

I possibly have more confidence in you :) so I'll wait to be told otherwise before I jump in. I'm happy to if required, but this can be quite labour-intensive, and I never liked hard work :D