ACC: "Microsoft Access Can't Find the Field" Error Message

• Microsoft Access versions 7.0, 97

SYMPTOMS

Novice: Requires knowledge of the user interface on single-user computers.

When you preview a report in Microsoft Access 7.0 or Microsoft Access 97, you may receive the following two error messages:

   Microsoft Access can't find the field '<field name>' referred
   to in your expression.

   An error occurred while referencing the OLE Automation object. You
   tried to run a Visual Basic procedure that improperly references a
   property or method of an OLE Automation object.

CAUSE

The report's record source contains a field with the same name as one of the following reserved words in Microsoft Access:

   AddRef
   Application
   GetIDsOfNames
   GetTypeInfo
   GetTypeInfoCount
   Invoke
   QueryInterface
   References
   Release

RESOLUTION

There are two ways to resolve this issue:

• You can rename the field by opening its table in Design view and assigning a unique name that is not a reserved word in Microsoft Access.
• If your report is based on a query, you can alias the field. For example, for a field named Release (a reserved word), you can open the query in Design view, and then change the field name in the query grid from

        Field: Release
  

  to:

        Field: MyReleaseField: Release
  

MORE INFORMATION

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

1. Open the sample database Northwind.mdb.

2. Create a new table with the following fields:

         Table: Table1
         ------------------------
         Field Name: Release
            Data Type: Text
         Field Name: Invoke
            Data Type: Text
         Field Name: GetTypeInfo
            Date Type: Text
   
   

3. Close and save the table as Table1.

4. Create a report based on the Table1 table by using the AutoReport: Columnar Wizard.

5. Preview the new report. Note that you receive the error messages listed in the "Symptoms" section.

REFERENCES

For more information about reserved words, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q109312
   TITLE     : ACC: Reserved Words in Microsoft Access

In Microsoft Access version 7.0, for more information about reserved words, search on the phrase "reserved word," and then view "Microsoft Jet Database Engine SQL Reserved Words," using the Answer Wizard from the Microsoft Access for Windows 95 Help menu.

In Microsoft Access 97, for more information about naming conventions, click Contents And Index on the Help menu and search on the phrase "Conversion and compatibility." You can also choose Microsoft Access Help from the Help menu and search on "Scoping and Naming Compatibility" in the Microsoft Office Assistant.

In Microsoft Access 97, for more information about reserved words, click Contents And Index on the Help menu and search on the phrase "reserved word." You can also choose Microsoft Access Help from the Help menu and search on "Microsoft Jet Database Engine SQL Reserved Words" in the Microsoft Office Assistant.