Cannot select join lines in Access query design view

I have encountered the very same experience in a query design.  I suspect it comes from a fault in the most recent update(s).  It appears to be caused by a kind of "automatic" but unintended relationship that suddenly appears in the query design and does not respond when you click on it.

I solved the problem by slightly changing the field name on one of the tables so that it would not automatically relate to a similar field in the the other table.

Here is an update from my side:

As I mentioned, the problem is only on my new computer that is set for automatic updates.  It is running Access 64-bit.

The problem does NOT occur on my older computer on which I have NOT downloaded the most recent updates (neither Windows nor Offics) as I have not connected it to the internet in over a month.  It is running Access 32-bit.

This week, I allowed the older computer to run auto update and viola!  The problem is now appearing on the older computer!

First conclusion:  It is not an issue of 32-bit vs 64-bit.

So I next uninstalled all of the Windows updates for 2020-02 (cumulative Win 10 update, .NET framework updates, etc.), but the problem did not go away.

Office 365 was also updated and I did not try to roll that back.  So my conclusion is:  It is an issue with the most recent Office update

Version 2002 (Build 12527.20194)

And by the way, I do not have any automatic links between queries.  They are all created manually.  So for me, that is not the source of the issue nor a solution.

Regards,

Neil

Thank you

A workaround or to make it easier to handle is to at least deactivate the "Enable Autojoin" in Options->Object Designers->Query Design. 

Hope for a permanent fix and update in the near future.

Hello Neil,

I had the exact same problem. One of my co-workers was using the exact same database with no issues at all. We contacted our IT department, did some trouble shooting, and figured out that I had the 32bit version of Access 2016 and the 32bit version or Access 2013 installed on my machine she had the latest 64bit version. Removed them both and installed the latest 64bit version. Problem was solved. Hope this helps.

Thanks,

Joe

The lines between tables in query design view represent joins, not relationships.  The latter are represented in the same way, but in the relationships windows.  If you delete the join line in a query it does not delete the relationship between the tables, merely the join in the current query.

I can't explain the behaviour which you have encountered, but joins can easily be deleted in SQL view of the query.  The following is the SQL statement for a simple query using tables in which the many-to-many relationship type between Contacts and Employers is modelled by a ContactEmployers table:

SELECT Contacts.ContactID, Contacts.FirstName, Contacts.LastName,

Contacts.Address, Employers.Employer

FROM Employers INNER JOIN (Contacts INNER JOIN ContactEmployers

ON Contacts.ContactID = ContactEmployers.ContactID)

ON Employers.EmployerID = ContactEmployers.EmployerID;

To remove the joins the SQL statement is amended as follows:

SELECT Contacts.ContactID, Contacts.FirstName, Contacts.LastName,

Contacts.Address, Employers.Employer

FROM Employers,Contacts, ContactEmployers;

I've inserted carriage returns for clarity, as is usual when writing SQL.  You'll find that SQL view in Access mostly omits these, but that has no effect on the operation of the query.

You'll see that the FROM clause now contains a comma-separated list of the three tables.  This query, if opened, would return the Cartesian product of the three tables, in effect joining every row in each table to every row in the other two.  This would only be of use if you wanted to return all possible contact/employer combinations, but by switching back to design view, you'd find that the join lines had disappeared and new joins between the tables can be created in the usual way.  You will find that the join lines you create will at first not show the direction of each join, but if the query is saved and reopened in design view these will be reinstated.  None of this has any effect on the enforced relationships between the tables in the relationships window of course.

I have not heard about this issue, but if you are in a bind you can delete a relation using VBA. Check the Relationships collection and Relationship object in the Help file.