ACC2000: "#Deleted" Unexpectedly Appears in Memo Field

After you edit a Memo field in a Microsoft Access database, "#Deleted" appears in the field, and the original information is lost.

If you try to use the "Compact and Repair Database" utility on the database, the field may have several number signs in it, as the follows:

Multiple instances of Microsoft Access are editing the Memo field at the same time. This behavior commonly occurs in an environment where multiple users are using the same shared database on a network.

Retype the information in the field. If necessary, retrieve the missing information from a backup copy of the database.

To avoid this behavior, you can implement row-level locking in the database. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Open the database in exclusive mode. If you have Access security implemented, ensure that you open the database with Administer permissions.
2. On the Tools menu, click Options.
3. In the Options dialog box, click Advanced.
4. Under Default Record Locking, click Edited Record, and click OK.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

CAUTION: If you follow the steps in this example, you modify the sample database Northwind.mdb. You may want to back up the Northwind.mdb file and follow these steps on a copy of the database.

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

1. Open the sample database Northwind.mdb.
2. Copy the Employees table to a new table called Employees2. For demonstration purposes, this instance of Access will be referred to as Instance A.
3. Open a second instance of Access and open the Employees2 table. This instance will be referred to as Instance B.
4. Switch back to Instance A and open the Employees2 table.
5. Add ten ones (1111111111) to the end of the Notes field in the last record, but do not save the record. Leave the pointer in the field.
6. Switch to Instance B, and open the Employees2 table.
7. Add ten twos (2222222222) in the same Notes field in the same record. Do not save the record.
8. Switch to Instance A and save the record by pressing SHIFT+ENTER.
9. Switch to Instance B and save the record by pressing SHIFT+ENTER. When prompted, click Save to save the changes.
10. Move off the record by clicking any another record.
11. Switch to Instance A. Note that the field contains "#Deleted."

For more information about record-level locking, click Microsoft Access Help on the Help menu, type record locking in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topics returned.