Microsoft has acknowledged that a glitch in its Access 97 database could mislead users into saving changed data to the wrong record. Found by a developer last week, the bug has since been reproduced independently by many users. The problem occurs when a user deletes one record in a form, then, without closing the form, uses the Combo Box Wizard option to find another record. Changes made to the found record are saved to the wrong file. As part of best-selling software package Office Professional 97, Access is very commonly used as a records repository in small businesses like doctors’ surgeries or law practices. This bug could cause medical information or checks, for example, to be credited to the wrong patient or client. Microsoft has issued a workaround, which involves adding the line Me.Requery to the AfterUpdate event of the Combo Box. Australian Access developer Allen Brown has posted more detailed information about the glitch on his web site, at http://odyssey.apana.org.au/~abrowne/BugBookmark.html. This bug will cost existing developers dearly, writes Brown, some of us have already written dozens of Access database applications. Virtually all use RecordsetClone and Bookmark. How do we handle those clients, knowing their data is compromised? Brown maintains that new developers should avoid using Access until Microsoft has resolved this issue. He warns: If Microsoft is tardy in providing a solution for all previous versions, they can expect users to abandon the product in droves.
