Purpose

This free update provides several new features and fixes for several problems that were identified in the previous releases.

Requirements

The full retail version of SPEED Ferret for Access 97 must be installed on your system before you can install this update. In order to receive the full benefit of this update, you should also delete any existing property cache (.sfc) and session (.sfs) files from the folders containing your databases.

To determine whether you need this update, open the About SPEED Ferret dialog box (in the Help menu). If you are running revision D, the following information will be listed in the lower left corner of the dialog box: Search Engine version 3.1.269, Access 97 Driver version 1.1.281. If your dialog box lists lower version numbers, or does not list any version numbers at all, then you are not running revision D.

What's New

The remainder of this article lists the changes that are provided by this update.

FIX: Eliminated potential setup problem on Windows NT 3.51 systems

The file CTL3D32.DLL is needed by SPEED Ferret on Windows NT 3.51 systems. This file is also used by other software, and is sometimes used by Windows NT itself. In prior revisions, the SPEED Ferret setup program was not prepared for the circumstance in which the file is already locked in use. This problem has been corrected in revision D.

FIX: Searching properties of Tables, Queries, and Fields

A new problem was introduced in revision C that was not present in prior revisions. Revision C does not search the OrderBy property of tables and queries, nor does it search the InputMask, RowSource, and RowSourceType properties of fields. This problem has been corrected in revision D.

FIX: Searching for strings containing $ and ^

In all prior revisions, if you attempted to perform a standard (non-wildcard) search using a search string that contained a caret (^) or dollar symbol ($), the character was interpreted a wildcard character having the special meaning that it is supposed to have only when a wildcard search is performed. This problem has been corrected in revision D.

FIX: Proper handling of syntax errors in search strings

In revision C, if you entered an invalid pattern when performing a wildcard search, SPEED Ferret would display a message box to inform you that the syntax was invalid. After you clicked the OK button to dismiss the message box, SPEED Ferret reported run-time error '-2147220983': Invalid operation. This problem has been corrected in revision D.

FIX: Improved handling of errors in printer drivers

We have received several reports of run-time errors occurring when certain printers are selected in SPEED Ferret's Print Setup dialog. These errors resulted from invalid information returned by the DeviceCapabilities API function which is used to query the printer driver. For example, in some cases the number of paper bins or paper sizes reported by this function is negative. SPEED Ferret now checks these values and handles them appropriately.

FIX: Improved handling of MSACCESS Application Faults

Under rare circumstances, Access 97 will generate a serious (untrappable) error when SPEED Ferret asks Access for information about a particular (often corrupt) database object. This causes SPEED Ferret to report run-time error -2147417848: "Method '~' of object '~' failed". When such a condition arises, the SPEED Ferret session will automatically be terminated. This is essential because after such an error occurs, the runtime state of Microsoft Access is unpredictable.

Prior to revision C, SPEED Ferret did not identify the object which caused Microsoft Access to stumble. A special test for this condition was added in revision C so that users could more easily identify and correct the underlying problem. At the time when revision C was developed it appeared that this type of error only affected the Search Engine, but several customers later reported situations in which this error also affected the Access 97 Driver. For this reason, we have provided special handling of this error in the Driver so that the offending object will be identified no matter where the error is detected.

FIX: Eliminated "Error in loading DLL" problem

Some customers have reported occasionally receiving run-time error 48: "Error in loading DLL". This error appears to be the result of a bug in Visual Basic 5, the environment in which SPEED Ferret was developed. Specifically, when an ActiveX DLL compiled by VB5 is called from Access 97, it will occasionally fail when executing a statement of the form

For Each Object In Collection
    'process the object
Next

We have eliminated this problem by replacing all For Each loops with conventional For loops of the form

For Index = 1 To Collection.Count
    Set Object = Collection.Item(Index)
    'process the object
Next

Revision C Changes Contained in Revision D

FEATURE: Using Null Strings in the Search Dialog

The OK button in the Search dialog has been replaced with separate Find and Replace buttons. Previously, when you left the Replace With box empty, this was interpreted as "do not replace". But this convention made it impossible to specify "replace with nothing". This limitation has now been removed. You can now search for null strings by leaving the Find What box empty and clicking the Find button in the search dialog. You can also replace matching text with a null string by leaving the Replace With box empty and clicking the Replace button in the search dialog.

FEATURE: Using Null Strings in the Datasheet

Previously, a null string in the New Value column meant "do not replace". Now the meaning depends on the record's Status. When you press the Delete key to delete a cell's New Value, the Status becomes Unmodified, meaning that no change will be saved. When you press Shift+Delete (Set to Nothing), the Status becomes Pending, meaning that the property's value will be replaced with a null string.

FEATURE: Pending Status Highlighted

For all records whose status is Pending, the status information is displayed using a Bold font. This makes it easier to see at a glance which records would be affected by a Save operation.

FEATURE: Exporting Search Results

The File menu now contains an Export command. Using this command you can export All or Selected records to a delimited file for external analysis or recordkeeping. Exported search results can easily be used as a data source for a Microsoft Word Mail Merge. This enables you to create custom-formatted documentation of changes for your clients.

FEATURE: Help Topic Cross-References

SPEED Ferret is now capable of searching the HelpContextId property of forms, reports, and controls. If you search for "*" using a pattern (wildcard) match, and limit your search to the HelpContextId property using a property set, you will get a list of all HelpContextId's referenced by your application. If you sort the search results by Value, identical context id's will be clustered, so you can easily see where each topic is used. All unassigned objects (HelpContextId=0) will be at the top of the list, so you can easily spot any missing entries. And you can use the new Export command to export the search results to a delimited file. By combining these exported results with the [MAP] section of your help project (HPJ) file, you can translate context id's to topic names to achieve a help topic cross-reference suitable for documentation purposes.

FEATURE: Replacement Verification

For added security, SPEED Ferret now verifies all replacements immediately after they are saved. This allows SPEED Ferret to detect cases in which a property value is assigned without error, but the value does not "stick". For example, if you attempt to change a control's FontName property from "Times New Roman" to "Ariel" (should be "Arial"), the control may simply select a default font such as "MS Sans Serif". SPEED Ferret's new Replacement Verification feature will alert you to the fact that the value actually acquired by the property is different from the value assigned to it.

FEATURE: Additional Option Settings

The Options dialog now includes the following user preference settings to help you work more efficiently:

Startup Settings: Show Startup Dialog Box, Maximize Session Window, Restore Previous Session, Initiate New Search

Search Settings: Match Type, Match Case, Include Readonly Properties

FEATURE: Version Info in "About SPEED Ferret" Dialog

The "About SPEED Ferret" dialog box now displays the currently running versions of the Search Engine and Access 97 Driver. This enables you to quickly determine whether the revision you are currently running is the latest one available on our website.

FIX: Printer Selection

You can now select any printer installed on your system when printing search results. Previously, only the default printer could be selected. This limitation was due to a bug in VB5, the language in which SPEED Ferret was developed. Microsoft has corrected the bug in VB5, enabling us to remove the printer limitation from SPEED Ferret.

FIX: Status of Objects in Replica Databases

All objects in replica databases are now marked as read-only, which prevents you from making futile attempts to save changes to these objects. Previously, SPEED Ferret did not mark objects in replica databases as read-only. This caused some customers to spend time making changes only to discover that Access had silently discarded all of the changes because the database was a replica.

FIX: Syntax Error Detection

Syntax errors in Find What and Replace With patterns (e.g. unmatched parentheses) are now detected and disallowed when performing a Patterm (Wildcard) match. Syntax errors are not possible for other types of matches, because all characters are interpreted as literal characters.

FIX: Long Strings No Longer Cause Printing Errors

Extremely long strings (e.g. huge SQL statements) no longer cause run-time error 6 (context sflib.Column.CastOff.40).

SPEED Ferret is implemented in VB5. This problem was due to a bug in the TextWidth method of the VB5 Printer object that occurs when a program attempts to determine the printed width of a long string. We had developed and applied a workaround for this problem in revision B, but we had overlooked one of the sites at which the workaround should have been applied. That site has now been corrected, and you should no longer experience any difficulties in printing search results that contain long strings.

FIX: Queries with Missing Source Tables

SPEED Ferret now correctly handles a query which references one or more nonexistent source tables. This condition previously caused SPEED Ferret to report a run-time error.

FIX: Winsock Control Properties

The LocalHostName, LocalIP, and RemoteHostIP properties of Winsock controls are no longer searched. These properties are not meaningful at design time and should not have been searched by previous versions of SPEED Ferret.

FIX: Registry Key Permissions on Windows NT Systems

SPEED Ferret no longer requires full permissions to registry keys created during installation in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE on Windows NT systems. Ordinary user permissions are now sufficient to run SPEED Ferret on Windows NT systems.

FIX: Handling of MSACCESS Application Faults

Under rare circumstances, Access 97 will generate a serious (untrappable) error when SPEED Ferret asks Access for information about a particular database object. When such a condition arises, the SPEED Ferret session will automatically be terminated. This is essential because after such an error occurs, the runtime state of Microsoft Access is unpredictable.

What is new in revision C is that, just prior to exiting, SPEED Ferret now identifies the object which caused Microsoft Access to stumble so that you can more easily identify and correct the underlying problem.

FIX: Status of Objects Imported from Database Under SCC

SPEED Ferret now correctly determines the SCC (Source Code Control) status of objects copied or imported from external databases that are under SCC. Under certain circumstances, the SccStatus property of an object is retained when that object is copied or imported from an external database, even though the destination database is not under source code control. Previous revisions of SPEED Ferret examined only the SccStatus property of the object, and incorrectly concluded that some imported objects were not "checked out" and therefore, not modifiable. Now SPEED Ferret also checks the SccStatus property of the Database object to determine whether the database itself is under source code control. This prevents SPEED Ferret from incorrectly regarding imported objects as read-only when they are, in fact, modifiable.

Revision B Changes Contained in Revision D

VB5 Compatibility

SPEED Ferret is now fully compatible with Visual Basic 5.0. Previously, if SPEED Ferret for Access 97 and VB5 were installed on the same system, some features in SPEED Ferret were "broken" when VB5 replaced two ActiveX controls used by SPEED Ferret with newer versions which did not function properly. Microsoft has supplied a corrected version of one control, and we have implemented a workaround for the limitations of the other control. SPEED Ferret and VB5 will now coexist harmoniously.

Performance

SPEED Ferret's ActiveX server DLL's have been compiled to native code using Visual Basic 5.0, resulting in modest performance gains in CPU-intensive tasks, especially sorting. SPEED Ferret had previously been compiled (as p-code) using Visual Basic 4.0.

Memory Requirements

Direct inspections of tables and queries now consume about 33% less virtual memory than before. This can result in better performance when searching a large database on a system having limited RAM.

Table Search Times

The initial inspection of a linked table is now performed in about 50% of the time previously required.

Query Search Times

SPEED Ferret no longer performs unnecessary direct inspections of queries which involve linked tables. After the initial inspection of a query, SPEED Ferret never directly reinspects the query unless it has been modified. As a result, average search times are dramatically reduced.

Visibility of Changes to Properties Inherited by Queries

Properties of query fields which are inherited from underlying queries and tables are now immediately detected by a subsequent search. Previously, all properties inherited by queries appeared in SPEED Ferret to be unchanged until a new SPEED Ferret session was started.

Visibility of Changes to Properties Inherited by Relationships

Changes to the names of tables, queries, and fields involved in relationships are now immediately detected by a subsequent search. Previously, all properties inherited by relationships appeared in SPEED Ferret to be unchanged until a new SPEED Ferret session was started.

Modifiability of Field Properties

The Caption, Description, Format, and InputMask properties of table and query fields are now modifiable even when they are inherited from an underlying table or query. Any modifications made to these properties are associated only with the containing object, and take precedence over any values inherited from underlying objects.

SourceTableName Property

Saving a change to the SourceTableName property of a table no longer prevents the concurrent modification of other properties of the same table.

Filter Property

The Filter property of tables and queries is no longer overlooked by a search.

Ambiguous Outer Joins

Queries having ambiguous outer joins no longer prevent SPEED Ferret from starting. Such queries are now added to the inspection errors log.

Duplicate CommandBar Names

SPEED Ferret now detects and reports duplicate CommandBar names at startup. This condition can arise when importing toolbars from another database.

Source Code Control

Objects under source code control which are not checked out to the current user are now treated as read-only objects.

Office Assistant

The Office Assistant is now hidden and silenced during a SPEED Ferret session.

Paper Source

The Print Setup dialog now permits you to select a Paper Source. This feature was previously nonfunctional due to a bug in Visual Basic 4.0.

Access Window

The Access window is no longer minimized when SPEED Ferret is started. Instead, Access is minimized only when SPEED Ferret is minimized. (The Access window is disabled whenever SPEED Ferret is running, so you cannot minimize it manually. SPEED Ferret minimizes the Access window automatically so that it does not obscure the desktop.)

Taskbar Button

SPEED Ferret no longer has a separate Taskbar button. If you switch to another task, you can reactivate SPEED Ferret by clicking the Access taskbar button.

Object & Property Set Editors

The Object Set and Property Set editors are now more similar in appearance.

Query Sort Order

Queries are now sorted alphabetically in the object set editor. Previously, they were sorted by creation date.

Open Objects

Forms and reports are no longer left open in design view when a search or replace operation is canceled.

Popup Windows

The toolbox and other popup windows available in report design view no longer appear during searches.

Numeric Object Names

Object names consisting entirely of digits no longer cause the object set editor to crash.

Column Content

Datasheet values are no longer displayed in the wrong columns after the columns have been rearranged and one or more columns is hidden from view.

Cursor Movement

The datasheet cursor no longer becomes "stuck" on the top row.

Copy/Paste

Text copied onto the Windows Clipboard from the Datasheet or Cell Editor can now be pasted outside of SPEED Ferret.

Punctuation Characters

The special characters (*, ?, #, [, ], {, }, (, ), \, <, >, !, -, :) are no longer ignored when used as literal characters in a Replace With string.

Word Characters

Letters belonging to the extended character set (š, œ, à, á, â, ã, ä, å, æ, ç, è, é, ê, ë, ì, í, î, ï, ð, ñ, ò, ó, ô, õ, ö, ø, ù, ú, û, ü, ý, þ, ÿ, ß) are now treated as word characters. These characters were previously treated as word delimiters.

Read-only Properties

The default value of the Include Read-only Properties check box on the Search Dialog is now True (checked).