Invalid Pointer Error

rbuser

Hi,

We are using RB V. 11.03. Our environment is Windows XP
Service Pack 3 and we are using Delphi 2009.

We have been experiencing an "Invalid Pointer Operation" error for some of
our reports. These reports worked previously in RB 10. I have traced the
error to the file "ppPrintr.pas" and the following procedure:



destructor TppPrinterCapabilities.Destroy;

begin

FPaperNames.Free; ? Error Occurs Here

FPaperSizes.Free;

FPaperWidths.Free;

FPaperHeights.Free;

FBinNames.Free;

FBins.Free;



inherited Destroy;



end;

Sometimes the error happens immediately after viewing the report in the
Report preview screen and then closing it. The error most often occurs when
our program is being shutdown. Any ideas on what could be happening would
be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Justin

nicocizik

Hi Justin,

1. Be sure you are using the latest build of ReportBuilder 11.03. You can
determine the build by right clicking over the installation .exe file and
selecting properties, then moving to the Details tab. The latest build is
220 so the version should read 11.0.3.220.

If you do not have the latest build, please re-download and reinstall.

2. If this does not help, please answer the following...

Does this occur with every report? If not, what is different about the
reports that cause the error? Does this only occur when you print to a
printer then close the application? Does it only occur with a single
printer or on a single machine?

Also, if possible, try recreating the issue using a simple minimal example
and send it to support@digital-metaphors.com in .zip format so we can try to
create it here on our machines.

--
Regards,

Nico Cizik
Digital Metaphors
http://www.digital-metaphors.com

nardmoseley

There is also a possibility that you have corrupt installation. Try
following the steps outlined in this article.

www.digital-metaphors.com/rbWiki/General/Installation/Cleaning_Up_a_Corrupt_Install




--
Nard Moseley
Digital Metaphors
www.digital-metaphors.com

rbuser

Nico,

1. I have installed the latest build, but it does not solve the issue.
2. The error does not occur with every report. I have looked into the
issue further and it only happens when a report is previewed/printed and
then the program is exited. The error also occurs on all of the computers I
have tested the program on. I have not been able to find any differences
between reports that receive the error and ones that don't, but I will keep
checking. I have also not been able to recreate the problem in a smaller
demo project, though we do a large amout of customizing the report sql
before printing in our normal program. One thing I did seem to notice is
that when we are customizing the report through the Report Designer
component there are no errors.

Thanks for your help,

Justin

nicocizik

Hi Justin,

The next step would be to take one of the problem reports and begin
simplifying it to try to single out the cause. Start by periodically
removing data aware components, then moving to other report aspects until
the error no longer occurs.

--
Regards,

Nico Cizik
Digital Metaphors
http://www.digital-metaphors.com

rbuser

Nico,

I took one of the reports that constitently causes errors and simplified it.
What I found was that I had to remove all components that we had placed in
groupings as well as components in the headers/footers and the
summarry/title. The only place I could safely put components to prevent any
errors was in the Detail section of the report. Thinking that there might
be something wrong with using groups I tested out another report that makes
heavy use of them, but that report continued to work fine with no errors. I
will continue to do some more testing to see if I can track down anything
else that might be linked to the problem.

Thanks,

Justin

rbuser

I seemed to have fixed the issue, but I don't know how my solution works. I
had two lines of code that I need to move from my OnCreate event on the main
form where the Report components were placed. They were:

1. Designer.Menu.Items[0].Insert(0, custMnuItm); //creates a custom menu
item in the report designer for our customers to use
2. ReportExplorer.FormCaption := 'Maintenance Report Designer' //changes the
Report Explorer (TppReportExplorer) caption

The first line I moved into the OnShow event of the form, and the second
line I had to move into the OnCreate event for the Report Explorer
component. This was a very strange error.

Justin

nicocizik

Hi Justin,

Great news. This was most likely a timing issue of some sort. One or both
of these commands was trying to access memory that either had not been
initialized yet or did not refer to the correct location.

--
Regards,

Nico Cizik
Digital Metaphors
http://www.digital-metaphors.com