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Mysterious Objects

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    Mysterious Objects

    I deleted three fields from a table and then deleted the fields from the form. Whenever I open the form, I get the familiar error message with a reference to the trace Window. The message there says a field object is referencing a non existant field.

    I've searched hi and low, far and wide for the object but it remains elusive. I deleted fields, buttons, the browse, all one at a time and I've checked the variables and calc fields but the error persists.

    Any idea what I might try or where else I could look?

    Thanks,

    kenn
    TYVM :) kenn

    Knowing what you can achieve will not become reality until you imagine and explore.

    #2
    RE: Mysterious Objects

    Ken

    Unfortunately no answer, can only confirm I have the same problem. Have searched high & low but can't find any remaining references.

    John

    Comment


      #3
      RE: Mysterious Objects

      Unlikely to be helpful, but have you checked font equations, font color equations?

      "I deleted three fields from a table and then deleted the fields from the form." - I hope you meant the opposite, deleting the fields from the form, then removing them from the table.

      If you didn't, try adding the fields back to the table (any type with the same name), edit the form, remove them there, then from the table.
      There can be only one.

      Comment


        #4
        RE: Mysterious Objects

        Stan
        Sounded like a great idea. Re added fields to tables, messages disappeared. Copied forms, stripped them down to make sure there were no remaining references, then re deleted fields from tables. Messages back like a dirty shirt! You alllllll have a gooooooooood day.
        My compliments to you're better half
        John

        Comment


          #5
          RE: Mysterious Objects

          Ken,

          Do you have any calc display fields in this form? Do any of them contain expressions which refer to a deleted field?

          Another possibility: Check the form level event scripts. Do any of them contain scripts which refer to a deleted field?

          If you don't see the error message using the default form for the set or table, it's a good sign the trouble is within your custom form. Otherwise, if the problem persists using the default form, it's a good indicator that you have one or more field rules which refer to a deleted field.


          Good luck sleuthing for the culprit!

          - tom

          Comment


            #6
            RE: Mysterious Objects

            Stan, Tom, et al,

            The answser is no to all questions. They were fields left over from an older table that had been split in two and made into a set. I did delete them from the table structure first as I've done with many fields in other apps etc.

            This is one of those times when the effort spent on finding the cure is not worth it. I suspect it's a bit of a "aschew" (Sneeze). So, I created a new form, and simply copied the fields tothe new form and all is well. I suspect it was something that got, for lack of a better way to put it, embedded in the form, kind of like a virus, it went in deep and corrupted the form.

            Thank you for all the suggestions.

            kenn
            TYVM :) kenn

            Knowing what you can achieve will not become reality until you imagine and explore.

            Comment


              #7
              RE: Mysterious Objects

              Ken,

              My comment about deleting the fields from the form first was based on my desire not to have messages come up indicating that the layout being opened refers to fields that are missing. I [u]try to backtrack and find out where fields are used on layouts and delete them there before ever removing them from a table.

              Don't always succeed.
              There can be only one.

              Comment


                #8
                RE: Mysterious Objects

                Sandy says howdy back at you. Enjoyed our dinner.
                There can be only one.

                Comment


                  #9
                  RE: Mysterious Objects

                  Yup, I see now, that is the way to do it. Oh well, live and learn. Hmmmm. I don't suppose anyone else has lived and learned???

                  kenn
                  TYVM :) kenn

                  Knowing what you can achieve will not become reality until you imagine and explore.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    RE: Mysterious Objects

                    Hi Ken
                    Yup, been there. A couple of things I have done in the past is to create a button on the form. Use the genie to create an action. If you pull down the "container", you should see the object name still listed if its an object on the form (even tho you can't find it). You can run some commands such as change the foreground background, bold, etc. Then I save it, press the button and key through a record. Usually sticks out like a sore thumb.

                    If you don't see the deleted field in the container drop down, it ain't on the form. It's somewhere else, probably in a calculation of font or color equation.

                    But most of the time I have used the field in a calculation, which will also give the warning.

                    Thats my dealings with

                    Warning [1]: Field object references a nonexistent field: DUMMY->FIRST.

                    :)
                    Mick

                    Comment


                      #11
                      RE: Mysterious Objects

                      Hi Mick,

                      Thanks for the tip. No doubt it will help others as well. The next time this happens, I will give this a try.

                      kenn
                      TYVM :) kenn

                      Knowing what you can achieve will not become reality until you imagine and explore.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        RE: Mysterious Objects

                        Ken,

                        Another situation that may cause a problem is dragging or pasting fields that already exist on the form onto a tabbed object or a conditional object. I have, on very rare occasions, found duplicate copies of the field listed in the object list. One copy was somewhere not visible, (apparently just under the visible field) and could not be found until the visible one was deleted. I have not been able to repeat this to test it, but I have had it happen a couple times. I have not seen this in later builds of A5v4.5.

                        Now, I no longer move a field that already exists on a form to a tab or conditional, but create it directly on the tab or conditional. One cure was to select all visible fields and objects, open a new form in design mode and paste them onto the blank form. A real pain, but as I said, this was very rare.

                        Jerry

                        Comment


                          #13
                          RE: Mysterious Objects

                          Sometimes the objects in a form or report can become corrupted or be lost in the object index for the form or report. The result is the item becomes unfunctional or can't be found by Alpha to be deleted yet remains a problem. In this case copying all the functional items to a new form is a good solution if you know what the problem item is and can leave it behind. Copying the whole form or report also copies the problem object and is not a solution.

                          I've never been inventive enough to look at the object list for a report as a way of managing these problems. I tend to work with a copy of a report as a a way of allowing the abandonment of a mangled report if this problem happens frequently. I also work with an offline copy of the database then paste the changes to the working database when this is possible.

                          Dave

                          Comment


                            #14
                            RE: Mysterious Objects

                            Jerry & David,

                            Yes, copying, moving, cutting and pasting from a form to a tabbed object does present problems at times; sometimes the fields go to a tab where they weren't supposed to go.

                            This hasn't been a consistant problem for me tbut none the less, when it happens, it's a pain.

                            Thanks for your input. Here's hoping v5 will not have this problem.

                            kenn
                            TYVM :) kenn

                            Knowing what you can achieve will not become reality until you imagine and explore.

                            Comment

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