Runtime Error Randomly occuring (Compile Error In Hidden Module)

I have a small number of users, who’ve been using my application without any issue for weeks and/or months, and then suddenly start getting errors:

I cannot replicate on my machines, nor can i replicate it on their machines reliably. It appears to start occuring randomly for only some users, but once it starts, it is not possible to resolve.

Noone receives this error in any other workbooks they have, and it occurs in different modules for different users. I can only assume it is related to .dll (which I do not install, but may rely on obviously) or wonder if there is some error in the XLS compilation.

This has been occurring for about 4 or 5 weeks now and it is becomming a real problem! Has anyone experienced anything similar or have any advice please?

Many Thanks in advance, Paul

I think this may be happening more often on users who have Office 365 2019 Build 2308, as when one of the users downgraded to Build 2307, it appears to be resolved. That said, I do have one user who is on Build 2307 that is having the issue. Any one with help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
This is happening on less than 10% of users

From your description, it seems like a very elusive problem that’s challenging to pin down.

Based on the details you’ve provided and given that the error doesn’t occur with other workbooks, it does sound like the issue might be tied to specific versions of Office 365 or certain system configurations. The .dll associations are a potential lead, especially if the application relies on external libraries that may have been updated or changed (what does your hidden module perform?)

Concerning the information you added about the “Access denied” error due to forbidden access to VBE (VBA editor): XLS Padlock does restrict access to the VBA editor to protect your code. If Excel tries to open the VBE due to an error, it would naturally be blocked by XLS Padlock, which could be contributing to the error message your users are seeing.

If feasible, try to gather more information from the affected users. Are there commonalities in their system setups?
Test the application in a controlled environment with both Office 365 2019 Build 2308 and Build 2307 to see if the issue can be reproduced.

Thank you for your feedback. I never got to the bottom of it, but recompiles tend to resolve it for a few weeks or months. I suspect the users gave up, but it was a relatively small number, so have put it on the back burner for now.

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