Just in case anyone else encounters this oddball problem.
I updated to Bookends 10.5.4. I found that my database opened in list view and that I could not get to a reference view by double-clicking. I changed the default in preferences to be for reference view. I quit and reopened Bookends but no window appeared, even though I had double-clicked on the particular database I've been using. However, I was able to open an old database. After rebuilding my current database, all was well. All of this took awhile because it never occurred to me that the problem was some kind of corruption; everything visible seemed fine.
Curiosity: Vanished Reference Windows
Re: Curiosity: Vanished Reference Windows
Hi,
If an old db that requires conversion (even implicit, and undectectable by you) is damaged, when you open it in the new version of Bookends an error can occur that prevents any records from being loaded. Hence the "empty" database. The solution is, as you found, to open the old (unconverted) database in the old version of Bookends and Repair or Rebuild it, then open it in the new version. You can (usually) avoid this by doing a Verify of the old db (in the old version of Bookends) before upgrading. If a problem is found, repair/rebuild it then. This isn't much of an issue now, since most people have upgraded to more modern versions of Bookends, but it still crops up on occaision.
Jon
Sonny Software
If an old db that requires conversion (even implicit, and undectectable by you) is damaged, when you open it in the new version of Bookends an error can occur that prevents any records from being loaded. Hence the "empty" database. The solution is, as you found, to open the old (unconverted) database in the old version of Bookends and Repair or Rebuild it, then open it in the new version. You can (usually) avoid this by doing a Verify of the old db (in the old version of Bookends) before upgrading. If a problem is found, repair/rebuild it then. This isn't much of an issue now, since most people have upgraded to more modern versions of Bookends, but it still crops up on occaision.
Jon
Sonny Software