Disappearing/Blank Combo Box Contents

[Greg]

In a database application using Access 2002
(and I'm also seeing it happen in 2003), I have a combo
box whose content becomes invisible when the form loses
focus and then reactivates. The entries are there; you
can even click them and the data is updated properly, but
you can't see them. Shifting the focus away from the
form and then back causes the list to reappear. Repaint
and/or Refresh doesn't help. Any suggestions as to the
cause?

My problem appears to be the same one reference by Will
in the following post yesterday:


Subject: access 2003 problem w/ combo box query after
return from modal form
From: "will eichert" <[email protected]>
Sent: 1/5/2004 3:15:50 PM


Greetings. I have a problem with a combo box incorrectly
displaying
blank items when returning to a form from a modal form.
It's fine when
the main form first comes up, but gets messed up when the
main form is
reactivated following opening and closing a modal form.
Strangely,
this was not a problem until I started using my Access
2000 db in
Access 2003 (as an Access 2000 db). Details follow...

I have an unbound combo box on my main form which allows
selection of
a user. Its rowsource is a query. When a user is
selected, a subform
displays a summary record for each order associated with
this user.
Pressing a button in the subform header brings up a modal
form
containing the details of the selected user order. This
form is opened
by VB code as follows:
DoCmd.OpenForm "orderdetail", , , , , , OrderID
After the orderdetail form is closed by the user, the
combo box on the
main form contains a bunch of blank items, nothing else.
It looks like
there are the correct number of items, but they're all
blank, and
selecting them does nothing. In the main form's Activate
event
handler, I have a Requery for the combo box control.

Also, the behavior is somewhat erratic. The usual
behavior is that the
1st time I go to the order detail form, then close it,
the main form
combo box has the correct items. Any subsequent openings
and closings
of the order detail form results in the combo box with
blank items.
Sometimes, it will be ok for 2 or 3 times of invoking the
detail form;
as I said it's erratic. Once it's messed up it stays
messed up until I
close the main form and re-open it.

I've spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to resolve
this, and
still have the problem. It's probably something obvious,
but it won't
be obvious to me until I know it ;-) Any ideas?

Thanks,

Will Eichert

 

[Allen Browne]

First thing is to establish whether this problem is related to your video
card or to Access.

Try changing your display to vanilla VGA. Does the problem still exist? If
not, you need an updated driver for your video card.

If it does exist, is the problem the same as this:
Incorrect display of data
at:
http://allenbrowne.com/bug-06.html

If neither of these approaches address your issue, please provide more info,
e.g.:
- Are there any records in the form when the problem happens?
- Does the form accept new records?
- Is the combo in the Detail section of the form, or which section?
- What is the combo's RowSource, Column Count, Column Widths, and Bound
Column?