Total Access Agent/Total Visual Agent
Frequently Asked Questions

• What version of Agent do I need? What versions of Access/VB does Agent support?

• Can I try Total Visual Agent before I buy it?

• Can Agent run as a Windows NT Service instead of a standalone application?

• How can I reinstall or upgrade Agent without losing my existing schedule settings?

• Can I use Agent to run a macro in a database with a password?

• I set up my events. Now how do I run them?

• I get an error saying, "Unable to compact replicated databases," but my database is not replicated.

• I'm running into a problem during installation.

• How can I tell which Event or Action is going to run first/next?

• Why doesn't the Archive Table Data action copy indexes or relationships?

• When I try to open my database it has a password that it didn't have before. How did this happen?

• Can Agent run on files across my network?

• When installing Agent, I receive the error: "You cannot install this VB5 application without the latest service pack first being installed onto this computer. Please install the latest service pack and rerun this installation."

• When I run Agent for the first time, I get the error: "Method '~' of object '~' failed" or "ActiveX component can't create object."

• When I run Agent for the first time, I get error number 3633.

• When I run a macro, I get the error: "Microsoft Access location not specified or is invalid."

What version of Agent do I need? What versions of Access/VB does Agent support?

The latest version of Total Visual Agent replaces all previous versions of the product. Total Visual Agent supports:

• Jet Engine 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, and 4.0
• Access 1.0, 1.1, 2.0, 95, 97, 2000, 2002 (XP), and 2003
• Visual Basic 4.0, 5.0, and 6.0

Check the Product Compatibility Chart for version information for all of our products!

Can I try Total Visual Agent before I buy it?

Download the Trial Version to try Total Visual Agent before you buy it.

Also, remember that FMS products come with a 30-day money back guarantee, so you can buy with confidence!

Can Agent run as a Windows NT Service instead of a standalone application?

Total Visual Agent 2003 includes the option to run the program as a Windows NT Service. This service runs even without a user logged on to the computer, providing increased security and automated restart if the machine crashes. This feature has been requested over the years, but it required the latest Microsoft technology to enable the management of multiple Access security workgroups.

How can I reinstall or upgrade Agent without losing my existing schedule settings?

To reinstall Total Visual Agent or to upgrade to the latest version, follow these steps:

1. Make a copy of your settings database (TVAGNT9.MDB, TVAGNT10, or TVAGNT11.MDB, located in your installation directory).
2. Uninstall Total Visual Agent, and delete the settings database from your installation directory (be careful NOT to delete the backup copy you just made- you'll need it!).
3. Install the new version of Total Visual Agent.
4. Start the Total Visual Agent Manager, and select Tools, Import Manager Settings from the Total Visual Agent menu.
5. Browse to the copy of your settings database (which you created in step 1), and press "Import."

To reinstall Total Access Agent without losing your schedule settings, follow these steps:

1. Make a copy of your settings database (TAAGNT16.MDB or TAAGNT32.MDB, located in your installation directory).
2. Uninstall Total Access Agent.
3. Move the database that you created in Step 1 to the directory where you intend to install Total Access Agent.
4. Total Access Agent will detect the existing settings database the first time you run the Total Access Agent Manager program, and it will import your settings.

Can I use Agent to run a macro on a database with a password?

Microsoft Access does not provide a way to open a password protected database using command line arguments. Total Visual Agent only launches Access with your database and designated macro; it cannot respond to any prompts or other dialogs that appear as a result of your macro, such as a database password.

I set up my events. Now how do I run them?

To run your Events, you must have them enabled.

Total Visual Agent
To enable events in Total Access Agent, right click on the Event name in the treeview section of the Total Visual Agent Manager. Select "Enable" from the menu. The Event should now be no longer grayed out.

Total Access Agent
To enable events in Total Access Agent, ensure that "Enable Event" is checked (on the Schedule Status form).

I get an error saying "Unable to compact replicated databases," but my database is not replicated.

This issue can occur in Total Visual Agent for a number of reasons.

1. Your database is read-only.
   To resolve this, use Windows Explorer to locate the database in question. Right click on the database, and choose the menu selection "Properties." Ensure that "Read-Only" is not checked.
2. You have either a database password, or a user ID & password that is not specified in the Database Settings.
   To specify these settings, go to View, Managed Databases (in the Total Visual Agent Manager). Then, highlight your database, and choose the Edit button. The "Use Global Default" setting will allow you to set the database password. The "Specify Workgroup" setting will allow you to specify the user ID & password. Please keep in mind that with this setting you must specify an .MDW.
3. This is not a valid Microsoft Access database.
   If this file is not an actual Microsoft Access database, but has the .mdb extension, this error can occur. To ensure that it is a Microsoft Access database, please try opening the .mdb with your version of Microsoft Access. If an error is returned saying "Unrecognized database format", then the database was either created with a newer version of Microsoft Access than what you have installed, or it is not a Microsoft Access database at all.
4. The database you are trying to run the compact action on is a replicated database. Please note that Total Visual Agent will not perform this action on replicated databases.

I'm running into a problem during installation.

It is extremely important to ensure that absolutely nothing else is running on your desktop during installation. This especially includes any anti-virus programs like Norton Antivirus, McAffee, etc. If necessary, you may need to disable them in the Windows/Startup folder.

How can I tell which Event or Action is going to run first/next?

You can always tell which event is going to fire next by looking at the "Next scheduled activity" field on the Monitor.

Actions within each event are executed in the order in which they are listed in the Manager portion of the application. In Total Visual Agent, the actions are listed in the treeview on the left side of the Manager screen. In Total Access Agent, the actions are listed in a List Box in the Manager portion of the application.

Why doesn't the Archive Table Data action copy indexes or relationships?

There is no safe way to copy a database while it is actively in use. The purpose of the table data extract is recovery of data that was added since the last time a complete copy of the database was made (with the Archive action).

The recommended backup procedure for databases that are heavily updated during the day is:

1. Perform an Archive Database action one or more times a day at a time when nobody is using the database, such as the middle of the night.
2. Schedule an Archive Table Data action to run several times throughout the day (e.g. every hour) to extract the data from the most crucial tables.

When I try to open my database it has a password that it didn't have before. How did this happen?

If you enter a value in the "Database Password" field of the Settings dialog, that password will be assigned to the compacted database, even if the database did not originally have a database password.

After Agent executes the compact/repair action with the option "Compact onto Original File," the password you entered is now assigned as the database password.

Here is how this works:

1. Agent makes a Temporary copy of your database

2. Agent then compacts and repairs that database

3. Agent renames the original database

4. Agent renames the Temporary database to the original database file name

5. Finally, Agent deletes the original database that was renamed.

During this process Agent uses the database password the user entered on the Settings screen as the database password to use when creating the Temporary database. After the process is completed this password is now the password of the database you ran the compact/repair action on.

To change your database back to having no password:

1. Open the database with your copy of Microsoft Access in exclusive mode using the password you entered into the "Database Password" field in the Agent Setting screen.
    

2. Go to the Tools Menu...Security...Unset Database Password... You will then be prompted for the password you used to open the database. Enter that password and then click OK.
    

3. Open Agent and click on Configure. Choose the database that has the password that was previously assigned to it and then click Settings. The value in the Database Password field (in the bottom right corner) should be deleted. Doing this will ensure that the database does not have a password assigned to it again when the compact/repair action is executed.

Can Agent run on files across my network?

Agent works with files in any directory where you have read/write/create file privileges. The user needs to remain logged onto the server in order to perform any actions (you may want to lock your machine for security reasons).

When installing, I receive the error: "You cannot install this VB5 application without the latest service pack first being installed onto this computer. Please install the latest service pack and rerun this installation."

This error generally means that you do not have the service packs necessary for the Agent setup. Agent requires that certain levels of service packs for Windows NT be installed before installation.

Total Visual Agent is not supported under Windows NT 3.x. If you are using Windows NT4, please install Service Pack 6 (or higher).

Total Access Agent 8.0 requires Service Pack 5 (or higher) for Windows NT 3.51, and Service Pack 2 (or higher) for Windows NT 4.0.

When I run Agent for the first time, I get the error: "Method '~' of object '~' failed" or "ActiveX component can't create object"

This error can occur if something has not been registered properly on your machine. To resolve this:

1. Choose Run from the Start Menu, and run the command line:

C:\Program Files\FMS\Agent\TVAGSRV9.exe /REGSERVER
(where C:\Program Files\FMS\Agent\ is your installation path)

If this does not resolve the issue, please try the following:

1. Uninstall Agent, and delete the entire installation directory (e.g. C:\Program Files\FMS\Agent\).
2. Reboot your machine.
3. Reinstall Agent.

When I run Agent for the first time, I get error number 3633.

This issue can occur for several reasons:

1. The user does not have the full permissions needed to do work over the network, or on specific databases. Please see your Network Administrator to obtain any needed privileges, or permissions to have full rights to the database or network.
2. You have the executed the Agent Monitor prior to opening the Agent Manager. Please ensure that you run the Agent Manager at least once before running the Agent Monitor.
3. If you are installing Total Visual Agent 2000, the setup may not have properly installed the necessary MDAC update. Please install the latest MDAC that is available from Microsoft, then reboot and reinstall Total Visual Agent 2000.

When I run a macro, I get the error: "Microsoft Access location not specified or is invalid."

This issue can occur in Total Visual Agent if you have two versions of Microsoft Access installed on your machine, but do not have the path of the actual Microsoft Access .EXE set in your settings database. To resolve this, please do the following:

1. Open Total Visual Agent.
2. Go to Tools, Options, and select the "Microsoft Access Locations" tab.
3. For each version of Access that you have installed, specify the correct path of the msaccess(version).exe.
4. Under "Access System Database" or "Access (version) INI File", specify the path to the *.MDW or *.INI.
5. Set the user ID and password if necessary.

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