ACC97: Can't See Dialog Box on System That Had Dual Monitors

ID: Q200412

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

Moderate: Requires basic macro, coding, and interoperability skills.

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

Certain Microsoft Access dialog boxes may be orphaned--not visible--on a Microsoft Windows system that once had two or more monitors installed at the same time. You cannot select the dialog box to move it back to the primary monitor.

If this condition occurs, you may not be able to see the property sheet associated with tables, forms, queries, or reports. This can also occur with the field list associated with forms or reports, the Indexes dialog box associated with tables, and the Sorting and Grouping dialog box for reports.


CAUSE

You may experience this behavior when a dialog box appears on a secondary monitor, and you then remove that monitor.

A registry key records the last position of the dialog box in question; therefore, the dialog box opens in the saved position.


RESOLUTION

This section describes a remedy for orphaned Access dialog boxes.

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).


  1. Verify that a backup file of the registry exists.



    2. For additional information about the registry, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
    Q183887 Description of the Windows Registry Checker Tool (Scanreg.exe)

    Q183603 How to Customize Registry Checker Tool
  2. On the taskbar, click Start, and then click Run.


  3. Type regedit in the Run dialog box. Click OK.


  4. Browse to the following key:


    5. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\8.0\Access\Settings
  5. Delete the key corresponding to the window that is orphaned:



    6. Window Key
    Table Properties TDPopPropST
    Table Indexes IndexesST
    Query Properties QueryPopPropST
    Form Properties FormPopPropST
    Report Properties ReportPopPropST
    Report Sorting and Grouping SGST
    Form or Report Field List ECLST

  6. On the Registry menu, click Exit.



MORE INFORMATION

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

  1. Open a form in Design view.


  2. On the View menu, click Properties.


  3. Drag the Properties dialog box to the secondary monitor.


  4. Quit all programs.


  5. Turn off the computer.


  6. Remove the secondary monitor card.


  7. Turn on the computer, and the start Microsoft Access.


  8. Open a form in Design view. Note that you do not see the Properties dialog box.


  9. On the View menu, click Properties. Note that you still do not see the Properties dialog box.


Additional query words: prb popup pop-up window 


Keywords          : kbdta 
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: May 17, 1999