CactusBase Pro Troubleshooting

Sections

General

Install notes

If upgrading a system that already has the Lexicon of Cacti Names on it.  

The old Lexicon will remain on the system together with the new Lexicon software (they are installed in separate locations). Please note that the Windows Start menu > Programs may show both Lexicon software on it and may lead to inadvertently loading the older version instead of the newer version. The newer version is called just Lexicon of Cacti Names where as the older version may be called Lexicon of Cacti Names Mill. Ed. If possible delete the older item from the Windows Start > Programs menu to save confusion later on.

CactusBase fails to load

1. If the CactusBase installer fails to finish successfully then first try re-booting the computer and try the CactusBase installer again. If the problem persists then contact CactusBase Support. 

2. Always load CactusBase database files from the file requester in the CactusBase program rather than directly by selecting them from Explorer, Windows Desktop or My Documents Folder. The file may be associated with another program such as Microsoft Access and will fail to be recognised.

Picture Manager

Typing in directory name into Filename box and Filename into Title box to add a new picture causes crash. 

The Filename box is for information only and should not be used in this way. Always add a picture to an entry using the Add button. The latest CactusBase upgrade fixes this issue. 

Lexicon of Cacti Names fails to load from within CactusBase

Trying to open Lexicon of Cacti Names from within CactusBase may show a message saying that the Lexicon cannot be found. 

The Lexicon needs to be run on its own the first time after CactusBase Pro/Lexicon is installed by Selecting Lexicon from the Windows Start Menu > Programs > Lexicon of Cacti Names. After this CactusBase knows where to find the Lexicon program and support files. 

Lexicon of Cacti Names fails to close when CactusBase is closed

The Lexicon does not close automatically when closing CactusBase as it has no way of knowing that CactusBase has been closed. Try clicking on the Close button at the bottom right corner of the Lexicon screen. You may need to do this repeatedly, once for every lexicon window that is open, until all the Lexicon windows have been closed. It is best to close each Lexicon entry before opening too many more at the same time.

'SmallCard' Printform - Accession no. and User Defined elements lost

Using print form tools and choosing the "Small Card" option, the Accession no. info. and
the User Defined Parameters info. are lost. These Print Forms are customisable in that each element can be positioned where you want them on the form and also resized. Positioning is by left mouse clicking on the element and whilst holding down the button dragging the outline of the element to the new position. Resizing is by right mouse clicking on the element and whilst holding down the button resizing the element outline. These particular elements need to be resized to extend their horizontal size - the data will then magically appear. Once they have all been done click on the disk icon on the PrintForm Toolbar and save as a new template name (SmallCard2 for example). If you want you can then delete SmallCard by selecting it and clicking on the delete button, then select SmallCard2 to get the new layout and save this as SmallCard. The layout named Default is the one that always appears the first time Print Form is opened so you can design your own layout and go through these steps of saving the new layout as a temporary file, deleting default and then saving the new layout as default.

CactusBase fails to load database file and displays a message asking for a password

It is likely that you have tried to open the database file directly from My Documents/CactusBase using Explorer or from My Computer. If you have Microsoft Access installed on your system then the CactusBase database file is probably associated with Access and has therefore tried to be opened in Access. Only open CactusBase database files using the file requester that appears when CactusBase is loaded. Opening CactusBase database files directly will be supported in the next version of CactusBase.

When installing CactusBase Pro on some computers (Windows 95 & some Windows 98 versions) the desktop wallpaper may be disabled.

This is a known side-effect of installing MDAC 2.5. (See Microsoft's technical note regarding this problem at http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q268/0/62.ASP).

The leftover registry key that is referred to in the article runs the RunOnce.exe program which displays a small window saying "Windows is now setting up the following items" in the upper left corner of the desktop during startup/login. The following fix causes this window to no longer appear and also fixes the missing wallpaper problem.

Download and right-click on the rem_dlg.inf file and choose "Install". This INF file simply removes the mdac_runonce key from the registry of the affected computer.

New! CactusBase displays a 'Bad file name or number' message when loading or when opening the Options screen  -  New!

The small utility ClearSettingsDb fixes a problem in the CactusBase settings database (which holds the CactusBase user settings) which is causing either a 'Bad file name or number' message at the start of CactusBase loading or when accessing the CactusBase Options screen. The utility removes the background picture file setting which causes this problem if the filename specified is on a drive that does not exist on the computer system. After running this utility the CactusBase program should load correctly and allow the Options screen to be displayed where a background picture can be re-assigned if desired.

The latest version of CactusBase Pro that is sent out to customers does not contain this problem. Please note that upgrading CactusBase to the latest version will not fix this problem, you will need to download and run the ClearSettingsDb fix.

Propagation Database

Search Facility

The following message appears in the Search facility in Propagation database "Item cannot be found in the collection corresponding to the requested name or ordinal" when using the Purchased from criteria. 

The latest CactusBase Pro upgrade fixes this issue.

Upgrading to Windows 2000 or XP

CactusBase Pro is compatible with Windows XP, even the earliest versions.

There is one note of caution though. It is very much worth considering installing Windows XP as a full installation (ie install on a completely wiped hard drive partition rather than upgrade an existing operating system such as Win 98). Upgrading from WIndows 98 to XP is known to have some difficulties. 

There are not many files that you need to keep copies of when installing CactusBase Pro so that you do not loose your data and CactusBase settings.

Here are the files recommended to backup safely before installation of XP:-
* All your data files that you have added data to (eg. cactus.cbd, propagation.cbd, photo.cbd and any literature ones - note, these files may have the file extension .mdb if using earlier versions of CactusBase). These files are normally found in your My Documents\Cactusbase folder.
* Global.mdb - This contains your Year Notes, Wanted List, Purchased From sources, Treatments and the last of last files accessed. This is found in your Program Files\CactusBase Pro\System directory.
* Settings.mdb - This contains your CactusBase settings are defined in the Options screen, lists of user defined parameters such as Types and Statuses, User defined fields, User defined Print Forms, User defined Graphs etc. This is found in your Program Files\CactusBase Pro\System directory.
* Culttab - Cultivation settings. This is found in your Program Files\CactusBase Pro\System directory.

So, just keep a copy of these safe ready for adding back to CactusBase after it is re-installed.

On your new XP system. Install CactusBase from the CD-Rom and then download and install any CactusBase upgrades that have been previously installed on your old system. Then overwrite the files in My Documents\CactusBase and My Programs\CactusBase Pro\System with the ones saved from the old system.

Please contact CactusBase Support if you have any problems. 

Encyclopedia related

Encyclopedia menu item is always disabled (greyed out)

1. CactusBase will only enable this menu if the optional 'Encyclopedia of Cacti and Succulents' cd-rom by Desert-Tropicals is detected in your cd-rom drive.

2. Currently the  'Encyclopedia of Cacti and Succulents' cd needs to be in your first cd-rom drive if you have more than one cd-rom drive. A fix for this limitation is supplied in the latest upgrade to CactusBase Pro.

3. Currently only version 3.0 of the 'Encyclopedia of Cacti and Succulents' cd-rom by Desert-Tropicals is recognised. If you have an earlier version please contact CactusBase Support or www.desert-tropicals.com for information on upgrading to v.3.0.

4. The entry names on the CactusBase database file are not conforming to the CactusBase standards (Genus name followed by one space followed by species names) and therefore cannot be matched with the names on the encyclopedia or none of the entries are in the encyclopedia.