Troubleshooting

The Incorrect Password Dialog

I received a "Can't decrypt file" message, even though the file isn't encrypted.

If you type a wrong password or just press Enter, Access informs you that it can't decrypt the file. You do, however, get another opportunity to type the password or click Cancel to terminate the attempt.

The Null Value in Index Dialog

I get a "Can't have Null value in index" message.

Occasionally, older Paradox .px index files don't have an index value for a record; when this situation occurs, you see a warning dialog with the message "Can't have Null value in index." Usually, you can disregard the message and continue linking or importing the file. The offending record, however, might not appear in the table; fixing the file in Paradox and starting over is better than ignoring the message.

The Missing Memo File Dialog

A "Cannot locate the requested Xbase memo file" message appears.

Both dBASE and Paradox use additional memo files to store the data from memo fields in a particular table. dBASE memo files have the .dbt file type, and Paradox memo files have the .mb file type. Access correctly decides that it can't import or link an external table if it can't open the table's associated memo file either because the memo file doesn't exist, isn't in the same folder as the table with which it is associated, or contains nontext data.

Importing Fixed-Width Text Files

When importing tables created from fixed-width text files, many errors occur.

You probably miscalculated one or more of the starting positions of a field. Locate the first field name with a problem; the names following it usually have problems, too. Close all open tables. From the Database window, select the table you imported and press Delete. If you have an Import Errors table, delete it, too. You can't delete an open table. Perform the importation process again and reposition the field breaks in the Import Text Wizard. Remember that the Wizard analyzes only the first 20 lines of the text file, so the guesses it makes about where to position the field breaks might be incorrect and might not allow enough room for the actual width of a field.