Troubleshooting

Failure of the 3di to load or run as expected is almost always due to one of two things:

• A change to the installed version of Microsoft Office or Windows.

• Moving or deleting the 3di installation folder or some of its contents.

For most users, the 3di is installed on a computer managed by their Trust or organisation's IT support team. Therefore if the 3di completely stops working, the quickest route to getting it running again is normally to contact your IT team and direct them to this page, and the installation page which will remind them of the steps they took to install the 3di in the first place.

The remainder of this page describes the error messages we have seen before, and can be followed by an IT team or any technically confident 3di user managing their own computer.

Error message: "The expression On Click... Automation error"

This error indicates a problem with the way Microsoft Access was installed on your machine.

Specifically, you may have the Microsoft Access Runtime installed alongside a more recent version of the full program, usually Microsoft Access 365. Try this: run Access from the Start menu, click File->Open and navigate to the 3di frontend file to load it directly. If the 3di loads and runs without the error, you can uninstall the Access Runtime from your machine to permanently address the issue.

Error message: "Run-time error '6': Overlow"

This occurs if you attempt to generate a report for a child with an implausibly large age — for example, 1000 years. This can happen if you accidentally mistype the child's date of birth, for example typing the year '1015' instead of '2015'. Correct the child's date of birth and date of interview, then try generating the report again.

Error message: "There was an error executing the command"

This error occurs when you open newer versions of the 3di in the Microsoft Access Runtime instead of Access for Microsoft 365.

Workaround:

1. Run Access from your Start menu. To do this, press the ⊞ Windows key and type 'access' then press Enter.

2. Access should open with the File menu visible, allowing you to pick which Access file to open.

3. The 3di5_uk_230122a.mdb frontend file may already be in the list, in which case select it to open.

4. Otherwise you will need to navigate to your 3di installation folder, which is normally found on your desktop and named on the pattern 3di5_uk_230122a. Within that folder, select the 3di5_uk_230122a.mdb frontend file.

You will need to perform the above steps each time you launch the 3di.

A lasting fix is to uninstall the Microsoft Access Runtime which may be on your computer from an old 3di installation, and make sure Office 365 (including Access and Word) are both installed. If an IT department manages your computer for you, ask them to do this. Full installation instructions are here.

Error message: “System resource exceeded”

This is a shortcoming in Access. The solution is to shut down the 3di (or the whole computer if nothing responds to your clicks) and restart – it’s a matter of just a minute or two, no more than the last response you entered will ever be lost, and you may well be able to continue your conversation with the parents so that they are never aware of the glitch!

Error message: “the template file ... is missing”

This can occur if you have partially moved or copied your 3di installation folder around on disk. This might happen inadvertently due to the use of OneDrive or other cloud sync systems. You may need to reinstall the 3di software. The installation page describes the 3di installation folder structure, and how to install the software.

I generated a Word report a second time but it looks the same or is very long

Remember that if you repeat a report, the new version will be appended to the existing report document – so scroll to the end of the document to find what you need.

Error message: “You must first select a backend”

If you see this message and yet the Main Menu is displaying the name of a backend (rather than displaying no backend), just close the 3di and restart.

Some questions show empty response dropdowns

This is a bug in Access. Which questions are affected is entirely a matter of chance. Where the questions have been answered previously, the selected responses are not lost – just not displayed. The solution is to shut down the 3di and restart – it’s a matter of just a minute or two, and you may well be able to continue your conversation with the parents so that they are never aware of the glitch!

Error 3048

Since 26th August 2024, you may see this error message while running the 3di:

The message may also say Error 3037: Cannot open any more tables or queries.

After clicking 'End', the program will be unresponsive and unusable.

This is due to a bug in an automatic Office update which Microsoft rolled out on 26 August 2024.

Update: Microsoft acknowledged the problem and released a fix on 10 September 2024.

If you are experiencing the symptoms, you can force Office to update by clicking on the menu File → Account → Update Options → Update Now. After the update, you should see Version 2408 (Build 17928.20156) or later beneath the About Access heading in the File menu.

Microsoft rolls out new Office versions to users with a phased approach. If you cannot update Office and you are currently stuck with the problem, you can follow the below workaround steps which should get the 3di up and running again.

Alternatively, if you don't need to use the 3di immediately, you can wait, and your Office installation should be automatically updated.

The workaround

You will add the 3di installation folder as a 'trusted location' in Microsoft Access.

1. From the Start Menu, open Access.

1. The home page opens. Click Options in the bottom left.

1. Click Trust Center, then Trust Center Settings....

1. Click Trusted Locations then Add new location....

1. Click Browse...then locate your 3di installation folder (for example 3di5_uk_210110k). This is normally found on your desktop.

   In the dialog, select the option Subfolders of this location are also trusted. It should look similar to the below. Click OK to confirm.

1. Click OK two more times to accept the dialogs.

2. Restart your computer from the Start Menu. Note this restart is necessary, unlike in many sets of instructions 😄.

You don't need to reverse the above steps at a later date. In other words, the configuration can be left in place regardless of when Microsoft release a fix.

More information

Microsoft release new versions of Office to 'home' users every few weeks. Frequently these include bugs. Enterprises like large companies and NHS Trusts instead opt to receive Office updates only twice per year. This gives Microsoft six months of free testing on home users to discover any bugs before they hit more valued customers. If you would like to switch to the more reliable 'enterprise channel' on your home machine, you can find instructions here.

Microsoft does not publicly disclose Office bugs to end users, but only to paid insiders who sometimes share this precious information with the rest of us. You can read such a report about the above bug here.

Carer deletion and tailored text (Qid 25)

If you delete a carer whose details are reflected in the tailored text of the interview, that text will not be updated on the fly. For example, if Mrs Bloggs is recorded as present at the interview and you then delete her record during the interview, questions will continue to read “Did you, Mrs Bloggs, …” and the like. However, if you use the Case Manager to Close interview and then Revisit interview the text of the affected questions will be updated.

Multiple biological parents

The system will not prevent you from entering more than one biological mother or father; the first entered will be used for tailoring text, in Report generation, and so on. Of course you should go back and correct your error!

Child deletion (Q 3.2.1 to 3.2.3, Qids 6, 1070, 1071)

If you delete from question 3.2.1 a child who is recorded as a sibling or half-sibling, then any records related to that child in Qs 3.2.2 and 3.2.3 will remain in place, but ‘lose’ the child’s name. Probably you should manually delete those ‘orphaned’ records (see Repeating Answer Deletion) – though no positive harm will result from their remaining in place.