ODE97: Troubleshooting ODE Setup Wizard Problems

• Microsoft Office 97 Developer Edition Tools

SUMMARY

Advanced: Requires expert coding, interoperability, and multiuser skills.

This article lists the most common problems encountered when using the Setup Wizard and describes how to avoid or solve them. Much of this information comes from the Setup Wizard Help file (Setupwiz.hlp) which is accessible from the Tips button in the Setup Wizard.

MORE INFORMATION

Contents

The following problems are discussed in more detail later in this article:

• Setup Wizard Error Message Occurs When You Attempt to Create Disk Images
• "Object Error 325" Occurs While Your Custom Setup Program Is Running
• Default Installation Folder for Your Application Is Always on Drive C
• You Receive a Compile Error When You Run Your Run-Time Application
• Users Can't Run Microsoft Graph 97 from Your Run-Time Application
• Can't Run a Run-Time Application Without a Network Server or CD-ROM
• Database (.Mdb) Files No Longer Automatically Open in Microsoft Access
• Users Can't Open the Custom Help File for Your Run-Time Application
• You Must Use Either Full or No File Name Extensions for Compressed Files
• Open Disk Image Folders and Highlight All Files When Copying Files to Disks
• Creating Front-End/Back-End Applications
• Specify a Unique Application Name, Version Number, and Destination Folder

Setup Wizard Error Message Occurs When You Attempt to Create Disk Images

You may see the following error message when you try to create disk images for your application using the Setup Wizard:

   Setup Wizard
   Permission Denied

To avoid this error message, create a copy of the workgroup information file, and use this copy as the workgroup information file for your application.

NOTE: You will also see the same error message if you try to add any file to your custom application that is currently in use by Microsoft Access or another application.

"Object Error 325" Occurs While Your Custom Setup Program Is Running

To avoid this error, always change the version number of your application each time you change the files included in the Setup program. In addition, make sure you use a different name for each application you create.

Default Installation Folder for Your Application Is Always on Drive C

When a user sets up your application, your custom Setup program suggests a default folder for the application's installation. You set the default folder that is suggested on the Provide Application Details page of the Setup Wizard.

You can enter any folder path you want, but note that the custom Setup program will always suggest the first available hard drive, typically drive C, as the root for this path. Your users can choose to use another location for the application's installation.

You Receive a Compile Error When You Run Your Run-Time Application

If your run-time application uses methods, properties, or functions in a referenced database, your application must include the referenced database, or you must remove the methods, properties, or functions from your run-time application.

You can check to see if your run-time application uses such methods, properties, or functions by running your application in full Microsoft Access. The References dialog box on the Tools menu lists any referenced databases. You can add such databases to your application's custom Setup program by using the Add Files page in the Setup Wizard.

Users Can't Run Microsoft Graph 97 from Your Run-Time Application

After uninstalling an Office application, users of your application may receive an error message saying the application can't find the dynamic-link library (DLL) Mso97 when they try to run Graph from within your application. To correct this problem, they need to reinstall your application.

Can't Run a Run-Time Application Without a Network Server or CD-ROM

If users have installed Microsoft Office Professional 97 or Microsoft Access 97 on a network server or on a CD-ROM (that is, they don't have a full local version of Microsoft Access), installing your custom run-time application on their computer does not install a local version of Microsoft Access. So, in order to run your run-time application, users must be connected to the network server or have the CD-ROM available. To work around this problem, users can uninstall both Microsoft Office Professional 97 or Microsoft Access 97 and your run-time application, and then reinstall them, making sure to install your run-time application first.

Database (.Mdb) Files No Longer Automatically Open in Microsoft Access

After uninstalling Microsoft Access, users of your run-time application may find that .mdb files no longer automatically open in Microsoft Access even though the run-time version of Microsoft Access is still installed on their computers.

To work around this problem, users can either reinstall your application or manually add an association between .mdb files and Msaccess.exe. To keep this problem from occurring, make sure you include "Msaccess.exe" in the command line for the shortcut that opens your application (for example, "Msaccess.exe" /runtime "$(FilePath)\MyApp.mdb").

Users Can't Open the Custom Help File for Your Run-Time Application

If users of your run-time application are prompted to open the Microsoft Access Help file instead of your custom Help file, you need to create and set the AppHelpFile key in the Windows registry under the Run-Time Options key. For more information about creating these keys, see Microsoft Access Run-Time Option Settings.

You Must Use Either Full or No File Name Extensions for Compressed Files

If you create disk images for your application in compressed format (you select 1.44-MB Disks or Compressed Network or CD Setup on the Specify Disk Image Options page in the Setup Wizard), you must either use full three-letter file name extensions (for example, MyApp.mdb) or use no extension (for example, Readme) for any files you specify for your application. If you don't, you will receive a "Setup could not open the file 'filename'" error when you are running the custom Setup program for your application.

Open Disk Image Folders and Highlight All Files When Copying Files to Disks

When copying files from the disk images for your application to 1.44-MB disks, you must open each folder in the disk images set and highlight all the files in the folder before copying its files to the disks. The default folder for your disk images is c:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\ ODETools\Setup Wizard\Images\Disks. This folder will contain folders named Disk1, Disk2, and so on. To copy the files in the Disk1 folder, open this folder and highlight all the files before copying the folder to floppy disks. Repeat this procedure for all the other disk folders.

You should also make sure the .dll files for your application are visible in the disk images before you copy the files. By default, Microsoft Windows 95 hides .dll files in Windows Explorer.

Creating Front-End/Back-End Applications

The Setup Wizard does not support administrative installations using the /a switch when installing Microsoft Access run-time applications. That is, you cannot install a main application containing all of your data and database objects on a server, and then from that server installation install "front-end" applications containing just the queries, forms, reports, macros, and modules on workstation computers.

To simulate this functionality, you should create two applications. Create one application that contains all of the data and database objects you want in your application (this is called a "main" or "back-end" application). Create another application that contains just the queries, forms, reports, macros, and modules from the main application (this is called a "front-end" application). In this application, include links to the data in the main application. Use the Setup Wizard to create a custom Setup program containing two components. One component contains the main application. You can specify that this component is only available in a Complete or Custom installation. The second component, available in a Typical installation, contains the front-end application. Administrators can then run your custom Setup program and install the main application on a network server. Users can run your custom Setup program and install the front-end application on a local computer.

Specify a Unique Application Name, Version Number, and Destination Folder

When you create an application's custom Setup program using the Setup Wizard, be sure to specify a unique application name, version number, and destination folder for the application in the Provide Application Details page of the Setup Wizard. For example, it is usually a bad idea to install an application in the same folder as Microsoft Access; file names in your application could conflict with existing Microsoft Access file names.

REFERENCES

For more information on compile errors, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q160870
   TITLE     : ACC: VBA Functions Break in Database with Missing References

Keywords          : StpOthr kbusage
Version           : 97
Platform          : WINDOWS
Hardware          : x86
Issue type        : kbtshoot