We have an Access application (for the pest control industry) that is run on various customer machines running Win XP through to Win 8.1. Recently we have started receiving reports of one aspect (signature display on reports) failing on Win 8.1 machines
following an automatic Windows Update.
The error message is:-
2114 xxxxx doesnt support the format of the file <path>.gif, or the file is to large. Try converting the file to BMP or GIF format.
where xxxxx is the program name and <path> is the full path and file name of the file concerned. The error is displayed whenever a report is displayed or printed which includes a link to a gif file.
All the files concerned are very small (normally not more than 5kb) and are already in a gif format (they are an image version of an INK signature created using a standard utility on tablet machines). If the gif file is viewed outside of MS Access, it is displayed
without a problem.
Similarly running the Access Application on a machine running Win 8.0 or earlier versions will result in the report showing the signature correctly showing that the error is related specifically to an updated version of Win 8.1.
The problem is:-
only occurring on machines running Win 8.1 (32 and 64 bit)
so far not seen to occur on as delivered Win 8.1 or Win 8.0 machines
does not occur on older machines after the initial update from 8.0 to 8.1(ie the initial update to 8.1 does not cause a problem)
occurs after an Auto Update on systems running Win 8.1
can happen on machines delivered as Win 8.0 or 8.1 (ie original version has no effect on if a problem occurs after once the update to 8.1 has been made)
if a restore point has been established before the auto-update, restoring will cure error (ie no changes made to the Access databases or any non-operating system software). However problem will be re-introduced if Auto
Update is left on.
has not been seen on a Win 8.1 machine which has had Auto Update switched off following initial update to 8.1.
is not happening on XP, Vista, Win 7 or Win 8 machines
to date, have been unable to tie in with a particular KB number
Machines in use fall into two categories
- mobile tablets (often a Dell Latitude 10 or Dell Venue 11) which are only running MS Access run time and basic utilities such as printer and anti-virus software.
- office machines which can be any machine running MS Access runtime plus a variety of other programs associated with running a small business. Unlike mobiles, most are not touch screen
machines.
The machines are customer machines and thus we have no control over what may be put on them. However we offer internet support for our software using a product called TeamViewer and are aware most mobiles are set up in a very similar fashion.
The report facility in Access has been in use on machines for a number of years. As part of trying to understand the problem, I have run tests with older versions of the Access database code - all of which show the same problem on effected machines but work
perfectly on all other machines which do not have the latest Win 8.1 updates.
Any clue to what is being downloaded as part of the Windows 8.1 Updates that are causing the problem woul be greatly appreciated.
Nick Peek
Friendly Data Solutions Ltd