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Question

"Object reference not set to an instance of an object" Error When Routing Form Between User Tasks

asked on February 15, 2017 Show version history

I have a form process that I have created after upgrading to 10.2.

The same form is being reused on three user tasks.  When routing from task 1 to task 2, it works fine, but then when routing from task 2 to task 3 (without changing any field values), I get the error.

In Forms it just says "An unexpected error has occurred. [LFF502-UnexpectedError]"

In the server Event Viewer, there's a lot of detail, but I don't see anything particularly explanatory.

After I noticed that it says:
"...Inner exception: System.NullReferenceException
Message: Object reference not set to an instance of an object..."
I found this post: http://answers.laserfiche.com/questions/114631/Object-reference-not-set-after-102-upgrade#114989

And in that post there is a reply by @████████referring to hotfix # 1013831, which I installed (and the install appeared successful, Windows now shows version 10.2.0.789).  But I'm still experiencing the issue.

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Answer

SELECTED ANSWER
replied on March 9, 2017

Hi,

Forms 10.2 Update 1 has been released and this problem is fixed in this update.

You can get the patch for this at https://support.laserfiche.com/kb/1013834/list-of-changes-for-laserfiche-forms-10-2-update-1-

Thanks.

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Replies

replied on February 15, 2017 Show version history

EDITED: I read too quickly and see that you already installed the hotfix I first suggested. Apologies, I don't know what the cause would be beyond that. You may have to download and send a copy of the form in question to support for further diagnosis.

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replied on February 15, 2017 Show version history

In order to test this further, I made a copy of my form to use for testing, and routed the user task to that form instead.  Then I made a small change to confirm that when I opened the form from my inbox, it pulled up the new test form instead of the original version.

Then I started systematically removing parts of the form and testing to see if the error went away.

I deleted all my CSS, my Javascript, the Lookup Rules, the Field Rules, and the error persisted.  Then I went through and removed all my fields (a couple at a time) and testing in between, and the error persisted.  I am now to the point that the form is blank, all that exists is the built-in comment field, and the approve button.  And I'm still getting the error!  The only thing left on my form is the variables, which I can't delete since that would break my real version of the form.

I've already confirmed that none of my variables are unnamed (I had that issue once before), and as I mentioned, the form does progress from User Task 1 on to User Task 2, just not from User Task 2 on to User Task 3.

I don't think it's my actual form causing the issue, since I deleted the entire form and still had the issue.  So I'm down to:
1. An issue with my process, but I don't see one.
2. An issue with my variables, but I don't see one, and it works the first time.
3. A system bug of some sort.

I don't know where to take this from this point...

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replied on February 15, 2017

If you can reproduce with a specific process, can you open a support case with your VAR and provide the downloaded process xml for us to do trouble shooting?

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replied on February 15, 2017

Providing a copy of my process to our VAR was not going to be a very easy option, it's pretty complex with Workflows, and connections to multiple databases.  So I tried replicating the error with a simpler process, and was able to do so.

Here's the steps I took:

I made a Process Called "Error Testing".  The process had one form, named Test, with no fields, no lookups, no CSS, and no Javascript.  The Process Disagram consisted of 5 steps:
1. Start Event
2. User Task - using the Test form, including the Submit button, and Assigning to my own user - all other values are at default settings.
3. User Task (2) - using the Test form, including the Submit button, and Assigning to my own user - all other values are at default settings.
4. User Task (3) - using the Test form, including the Submit button, and Assigning to my own user - all other values are at default settings.
5. End Event

Then I created a Workflow that consisted of one sole task, calling "Invoke Business Process" and loading the "Error Testing" Form Process.

I ran the Workflow:
1. The Form "User Task" was created and placed in my Inbox.
2. I opened that form and clicked Submit, which worked.
3. The Form "User Task (2)" was created and placed in my Inbox.
4. I opened that form and clicked Submit, and then I got the same error I was getting in my complex process.

I can provide our VAR with this process and Workflow if that is still the best course of action, but perhaps this information is sufficient for someone to replicate the issue?

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replied on February 15, 2017

Hi Matthew, I was able to reproduce the issue following your steps.

It will be fixed in Forms next update, sorry for the inconvenience.

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replied on February 16, 2017

Thank you.  Is there an approximate ETA on when that next update is targeted for release?

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replied on February 16, 2017 Show version history

We are targeting release an update at end of February. 

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replied on February 24, 2017

I don't know what changed (???), I definitely haven't installed anything or changed settings.  But it's not giving me this error anymore...  

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replied on February 24, 2017

Let use know if your run into it again. There may be some timing issue.

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replied on March 3, 2017

I ran into this exact issue and spent half a day trying different things, to no avail.

Eagerly waiting for the next hotfix. I can provide a copy of my BP to support if needed.

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replied on March 4, 2017

@████████- maybe give this a try.

Since 10.2, I've noticed that occasionally my Javascripts completely stopped working in testing.  Upon sectioning out different parts of my code to try to identify the issue, the only problem I could find was that it didn't seem to like my very last line of code, but I couldn't see any syntax errors.  I don't know what it didn't like about it (thought I suspect it is the fact that I usually put a comment after closing brackets to indicate what section of code is being closed, and I wonder if it doesn't like ending with a comment).  To work around this, I added a an extra line break at the end of my code, so that the very last line was completely blank, then my Javascript worked again.  I was planning to report the issue here on Laserfiche Answers so that support was aware of it, but hadn't gotten around to it yet.

Anyway, I have no idea if these two issues are related or not.  In fact, the simple use case I provided here to recreate the issue had no Javascripts at all, so I was not thinking they were related...  But I was dealing with both issues around the same time, and I haven't seen either issue for several week, so I wonder... 

Why don't you try adding an extra line break to the end of your Javascripts on each form in your BP and see if perhaps the issue goes away?  It wouldn't hurt...

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replied on March 5, 2017 Show version history

Hi Matthew, it is a known issue for 10.2 that if the last line of your JavaScript is a comment, then the JavaScript will not work. This is a side effect for the performance improvement of load form in 10.2. We have fixed this in the coming service pack. 

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replied on March 5, 2017

@████████, please provide your BP to support so that we can use your BP to do trouble shooting. Thanks.

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replied on March 5, 2017

Okay. Just to make sure though, back on February 15 Rui Deng said he was able to reproduce the problem using Matthew's steps, so the fix is coming in this week's service pack right?

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replied on March 5, 2017

The issue Matthew ran into will be fixed in the service pack, is your process similar to his that have workflow to start a process or update variables?

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replied on March 5, 2017

Yeah, my process also has workflow update variables.

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replied on March 5, 2017

Then it is same root cause, this has been fixed already.

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replied on March 8, 2017

Forms 10.2  Update 1 has been released now:  https://support.laserfiche.com/kb/1013834/list-of-changes-for-laserfiche-forms-10-2-update-1-, please check whether your issues have been resolved.

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replied on March 9, 2017

Yes, I can get past that step now. The issue doesn't seem to occur anymore. Thanks!

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replied on March 9, 2017

Thanks @████████!

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