One user having issues in one app...?
I am checking with customer support, but thought I would see if anyone can make sense of this. In one of my apps, one single user cannot add records or view calendars. In both instances the webpag...
Forum Discussion
Update: IT believes it may have to do with the antivirus software. They have not come up with a solve. I am also curious as to why it is only happening with one user then....will post back if I get more info.
------------------------------
Mike Tamoush
------------------------------
Hi Mike,
I had a problem in one App only where I would log in and could not expand Reports and Charts or view table properties but instead would see a blank screen. I am a Realm Admin so this should not be the case. Other Realm Admins were not experiencing the problem. Even Quickbase Support didn't understand what was happening. I got on a Zoom call and recorded it with Elvis.
Then I turned UTF-8 off and everything worked. I performed an API_GetSchema with UTF-8 enabled and found there were special characters in some multi-choice fields. As soon as I cleared those the problem went away.
Is it possible there is a multi-choice field with a special character in it?
I don't know why this would happen to one user but this is very similar to what I experienced last week. Also QB is releasing a UTF-8 update this week so there has been some recent work done with character encoding.
Easiest way I have found to check is to use Postman and send API_GetSchema and then read through the response. By enabling UTF-8 before sending the request, all the bad characters will come back as black diamonds with white question marks.
"The replacement character , a black diamond with a white question mark, is a symbol found in the Unicode standard at codepoint U+FFFD in the Specials table. It is used to replace an unknown or unrepresentable character, or indicate problems when a system is not able to render a stream of data to a correct symbol."
If IT finds the AV isn't the problem give that a shot.
------------------------------
Jim Harrison
transparency = knowledge + understanding : The Scrum Dudes
------------------------------
Hmm, interesting Jim. I don't have UTF-8 on but the fact that you had the same behavior and only in one app certainly sounds like more than a coincidence. Our problem suddenly fixed itself and it has made myself and IT even more confused.
It very much seemed to be linked to the anti-virus. They would turn it off and it would work, turn it back on and they got the error. The uninstalled and reinstalled the anti-virus, but that didn't solve anything. I am running the same AV version, and have no issues, and no one else in the company is having issues, so that made it more confusing (if it was the AV, why isnt it happening for anyone else?). But there at least seemed to be a very clear link between the AV and the issue.
IT was going to work on it some more today, and boom. It was just working today without issue.
No idea what happened or how it fixed itself.
------------------------------
Mike Tamoush
------------------------------In speculation here: Could the AV be affected by a special character passed in a string that is not encoded properly? Very similar to a SQL injection attack.
We found the problem presents when QuNect or Workato request data from QB. If there is a non-ascii character in the response, the entire response appears as garbage to Workato or QuNect.
Anyhow glad to hear it just started working...
------------------------------
Jim Harrison
transparency = knowledge + understanding : The Scrum Dudes
------------------------------
Jim,
A couple of questions for you. Do you remember, when you had your issues, when you went to 'My Apps' did the apps show there? I am having a separate issue where a user can get into an app if he has the direct link, but it does not show in his My Apps table. It does not appear to be hidden either. I am unclear if this issues is related though.
2. You wrote this " I performed an API_GetSchema with UTF-8 enabled and found there were special characters in some multi-choice fields. As soon as I cleared those the problem went away." Truthfully, though I have a lot of QB experience, I am pretty inexperienced with APIs etc. You mentioned Postman, and I dont even know what that is :) Any way to translate how to check for these special characters in my app, for a someone that is pretty new to the API world? Not exactly sure how I utilize that API_GetSchema.
Thanks!
------------------------------
Mike Tamoush
------------------------------Hi Mike,
The case of the disappearing Apps is known. QB hides Apps you haven't used in a while, I think it's annoying. To resolve the problem there are two options. The first option is to use the advanced search link and search for the App name. The second option is to send the User a link to the App. Once they open the App, the App appears in the My Apps page. We have a Human Resources App with a link to all the Apps the User has access to so if this happens our Users know they can go to the HR App and click the link there.
2. Postman is a way to send APIs for testing as well as development. It takes some doing but once you get the hang of it, its fairly standardized. I'd be happy to show you the way if you're interested. Get Postman installed and then let me know and we can do a screenshare (your screen) and I'll tell you what to do. You'll need a User Token too with Admin access to the App in question.
------------------------------
Jim Harrison
transparency = knowledge + understanding : The Scrum Dudes
------------------------------Thanks Jim.
1. What made this strange is the user was brand new AND he could not find the app via the advanced search. However, he COULD open the app with the direct link. However, we never double backed and checked if the app was now visible in his My Apps. Also, this user is rarely logged in and difficult to get a hold of, so I need another example to work on. I will see if anyone else has the same issue.
2. Thank you so much for the offer! I will probably message you just to open the line of communication and have your contact info, but I may wait to see if this issue is replicated for any other users before investing too much time into the 'why'. As the one users situation was unexpectedly fixed, for now it is a dormant issue.
------------------------------
Mike Tamoush
------------------------------