MS Access object location error

Hi Ripper T,

Thanks for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A Forum and providing the details.

The error you're encountering, especially with the vague quote mark in the message, suggests that Access may be referencing a missing or improperly named object, possibly a query, table, or field. Since the sort completes after you click OK, it’s likely a non-critical issue, but still disruptive. Can you provide me with some additional information so that I can understand the issue and I will get in touch with an expert to help you with this case

• What action were you performing when the error appeared?
• Does the error occur on a single user's computer or on all computers using the database?
• Have you tried enabling all content in the yellow security bar when opening the file?
• Is the database file currently saved in a Trusted Location on your computer/network?

Since you’ve already compacted and repaired the database, that rules out corruption as the main cause. If the issue continues, feel free to send a screenshot or more details about the table structure, I'm happy to take a closer look.

Dear Ripper T

Thank you for reaching out to the Q&A Forum.

To assist you effectively, could you please provide the following information:

1. Microsoft Access version and operating system (e.g., Access 2019 on Windows 11).
2. Are you working directly in a table or within a form/datasheet view?
3. For the column where the error occurs:
   • What is its Data Type (e.g., Number, Calculated)?
   • If it is a Lookup field, could you confirm whether the Row Source is still valid (check in Design View > Lookup tab)?
4. Could you also share the file settings or, if possible, upload a copy of the file to OneDrive and share the link with me via private message for further review?

During my research, I came across a thread where a similar issue occurred because the user had linked data to an Excel sheet, and that sheet was later renamed. I’m not sure if this applies to your case, but it would be helpful to know if your table is linked to any external source (such as Excel or another database).

You can also take a look at this Microsoft article for reference: Error message when you open a linked table in Access

Look forward to your response.

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In the navigation pane copy and paste the table under a new name. Does the copy exhibit the same behaviour? If not, delete the original table and rename the copy back to the original name. You might then need to recreate any relationships which reference the table.