>>So yes, log the error, exit gracefully, and at least as important, remind the user to report it to someone who can do something about it.
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>We have an error log, too. But making users around the world send the file to us regularly is another issue. They just send it when they have a *really big* problem that stops them to finish an important task. When we get it, we found there are many other *small* glitches hidden in our app.
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>I've been dreaming with a Tech Supp Web Site, where users can post their errors and logs (is anybody using Microsoft ATS web already?). But they don't even send the log via eMail...so making them connect to a web site and type something will be a hard thing...arghh.
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I've used ATS with a couple of my clients who work in a shared development environment, and it works well. But here we have people who get trouble calls from the field or testing, log the errors and product enhacement requests in detail, and someone is responsible for assigning each item to someone for resolution, nit the same thing.

>Maybe creating an eMail using MAPI, attaching the error log and send it to the Outbox will be fine (but the log must be zipped, some computers are not connected to internet, bla bla bla). What's the best idea to retrieve errors from users?
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Ummm, pulling out their fingernails one by one until they admit that something went wrong seems a bit extreme...Chinese Water Torture, perhaps? < g >

There's no fixed solution. At my own office, we have a morning maintenance task - change the tape in the system tape backup unit, print the backup log from the previous night, and dump the application error logs. If I'm not in the office and there are other than routine errors (we have some of those, for example if someone tries to start a transaction during the time that our backup system is copying off our transaction journals, an eror is logged and the user's application is shut down. And the error is right there in the log.) I get a call, and in most cases the log is either emailed to me, or if I'm somewhere other than the office where I can dial in, I may just have them rename the files from the previous night so I can see them.

If the user doesn't want to report the error, and there's no automatic means of reporting the error "up the ladder" to you, there's little that can be done.