Troubleshooting

This page lists Bootstrapper Manager's error messages and other issues you might run into, along with their causes and solutions. It applies to Wkl.Bootstrapper.Manager.accdb in Access from Microsoft 365. The Bootstrapper Manager's messages are quoted as they appear in its English user interface; “…” stands for a file name or path. Messages from the starter (in English) appear on the Problems page or in the message for the command you ran.

Cause: The folder that contains Wkl.Bootstrapper.Manager.accdb isn't a trusted location, so Access doesn't run the code behind the pages.

Solution: Add the folder as a trusted location, as described in step 2 of How to: Set up and start Bootstrapper Manager. Then open Bootstrapper Manager again.

Cause: There's no starter where Bootstrapper Manager looks for one: no starter= was passed at startup, there's no StarterPath setting, and there's no Wkl.Bootstrapper.exe in the project file's folder. Or starter= or StarterPath points to a file that doesn't exist, in which case the Bootstrapper Manager stops looking. You can get this message from Check (as a row on the Problems page), New, Import (on the Projects and Registry pages), Preview, Trial run, and Build MSI.

Solution: Put the starter in the project file's folder, which is also where it goes when you ship. Or set StarterPath to a valid path, as described in step 3 of How to: Set up and start Bootstrapper Manager. You can still edit and save projects without the starter.

Cause: You used Open to select a format 1 project file.

Solution: Convert the file to format 2 by hand; see The project file (format 2), section Format 1 (WKL Bootstrapper documentation). If you have a configuration from the former starter (StarterPro.config.xml), you can convert it directly with Import.

Cause: The file isn't valid JSON, usually because it was edited by hand (for example, a missing comma or quotation mark, or a single backslash in a path instead of \\).

Solution: Fix the error the message points to in a text editor, and then open the file again.

Cause: A file with that name already exists in the location you chose. Import never overwrites an existing project file.

Solution: Select Import again, and enter a different name or choose a different folder.

Cause: The starter turned down the request, and the rest of the message tells you why; for example, an unknown template or a folder you don't have permission to write to. If an existing file was being replaced, the previous file has been put back.

Solution: Fix the cause given in the message; for example, choose a different folder.

Cause: The New-StarterMsi.ps1 script failed, and its output appears below the message. Most often, wix isn't installed or is older than version 6, or the version you entered isn't valid.

Solution: Install WiX (dotnet tool install --global wix), and enter a version with two or three numbers. If the script itself is missing, Bootstrapper Manager reports “tools\New-StarterMsi.ps1 was not found (MsiTool setting, or next to the starter).” The script is in the tools folder of the starter's release package.

Cause: The starter exited without writing a result; for example, because it's an older version that doesn't support /preview or /whatif, or because security software blocked it.

Solution: Use the starter from the current WKL Bootstrapper release, and run the command again. To find out what went wrong, run the starter with the same command from a command prompt (Wkl.Bootstrapper.exe /whatif <project file>).

Cause: Bootstrapper Manager doesn't recognize the wording of this problem; for example, because it isn't about a field (“The starter was not found …”) or because a newer version of the starter words it differently. If the problem doesn't refer to any known part of the project file, Go to page is unavailable; otherwise, it opens the page but doesn't mark anything.

Solution: Fix the problem based on its message, which starts with the part of the project file it's about.

Cause: A project file that was already in the list was read again, and someone selected Yes when Bootstrapper Manager asked “Read the file again and discard the changes?” Bootstrapper Manager only rereads a project without asking if the project has no unsaved changes.

Solution: Discarded changes can't be recovered; the file contains the last saved version.

Cause: The Source field contains a relative path such as deploy. The starter resolves it from its own folder, which after installation is C:\Program Files (x86)\WKL\<product ID>, where there's no source folder. The starter's window shows code 12, and the diagnostic details read The source C:\Program Files (x86)\WKL\Kasse\deploy is not reachable. The trial run and the check in Bootstrapper Manager don't catch this, because there the starter sits next to the project file and the relative path resolves.

Solution: Enter a full path or a share in the Source field, save, and build a new MSI package with a higher package version. For other causes of code 12, see The folder with the application cannot be reached (code 12) (WKL Bootstrapper documentation).

Cause: The application file was built in 32-bit Access. An ACCDE or a compiled ACCDB runs only in the bitness it was built in. The starter then stops with code 21, or Access reports that it can't find a function when it opens the file.

Solution: Build the delivery with the WKL Office SDK and "bitness": "any", as an ACCDB for both bitnesses; see delivery-settings.json (WKL Office SDK documentation). If it has to stay an ACCDE, deliver a version built in 64-bit Access to these users, from a source folder of its own with a starter of its own; see How to: Install for 32-bit and 64-bit Office, section Implementation, and The version of the application does not match the installed Access (32 or 64 bit) (code 21) (WKL Bootstrapper documentation). Check the delivery on a computer with 64-bit Office, as described in How to: Test a project and build an MSI package.

Cause: The list is stored in Wkl.Bootstrapper.Manager.accdb, and a new copy of that file starts with an empty list.

Solution: Add your project files again with Open. Any unsaved changes from the old version exist only in the old file, so save them there before you switch.

• WKL Bootstrapper Manager user guide
• Error codes of the starter (WKL Bootstrapper documentation): the starter's messages on users' computers