Dialogue OK button behaves differently on different PCs

Hi,

This is actually to do with functionality of the LTSpice simulation software which I am assuming was written in something like C++. In essence it is a general question so should be applicable for ideas here. Being such a well used application there a many tens of thousands of copies working perfectly throughout the world including a test copy on my wife's PC. Except it doesn't work on my own work PC!

In use there is a simple dialogue box which has a small number of editboxes for entry. In general this is used to edit the values of a few parameters in use just as you would expect. These parameters are concatenated to produce a command string which is displayed lower in the dialogue. The parameter values can be edited directly there too.

When opened it loads up the existing values and displays them in both the parameter value editboxes and in the overall command editbox. It allows you to edit them as it should and this works fine. Then on pressing [OK] it should save these values and close. It's that simple. There is also a [Cancel] button which exits the dialogue box by calling up a simpler text edit dialogue where you can edit the overall command in a simpler fashion - again! That's clunky! We all think so but there is nothing that can be done. To dump any edits made in the first dialogue you should therefore have to [Cancel] twice, first for the dialogue in question, then for the text edit dialogue which follows. It does this perfectly on virtually everyone else's system but mine.

On my system and a single other one reported to date, it all works fine until you try to use the [OK] button in that first dialogue to accept the edits you have made. At that point on my system the dialogue closes but all edits are dropped and the values remain as they were before it opened. This is not a flight of fancy, that [OK] button really displays different functionality on my system. Mine behaves as though it were a classic [Cancel] button.

I have a standard Win10 Pro OS on a standard PC the same as most other users and am running exactly the same version of LTspice as everyone else but that difference remains and I can't tie it down. There was a suggestion in the only other known case of this that an application named Acronis Backup was somehow involved. When that was turned off the problem apparently corrected itself. I find it incomprehensible that a piece of software could alter the action of a simple dialogue button in another totally independent piece of software. Windows programming just does not work like that does it?

I hope this is clear enough to explain what is going on here. Can anyone suggest a process by which this could be happening?
I find it incomprehensible that a piece of software could alter the action of a simple dialogue button in another totally independent piece of software.

It might not be the dialogue button but whatever the dialogue button is supposed to do, e.g., commit changes to a file.

First step is to submit a defect report to Analog, if you haven't already.

For the best chances at getting help, format your defect report according to e.g.,
https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html
and/or
http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

Post the defect report here if you want. Otherwise we can only speculate.
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thanks for the advice mbozzi. I have emailed Analog filling them in fully on what has happened. I'm used to writing bug reports so they should have all of the tech info they need to be clear what is going on. They have already responded asking for my location and telephone. (Huhh?)

I'll post if they can shed any light on the problem. Someone else might just benefit from it being available.
I find it incomprehensible that a piece of software could alter the action of a simple dialogue button in another totally independent piece of software. Windows programming just does not work like that does it?


Cause it can/does! eg with hooks, change notifications etc Especially as an installed service running with system privs.
Because windows can be such a rats nest with DLLs being loaded into processes, try
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/listdlls

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