A size increase of 32kb may not sound much but take into consideration the fact that the original image was only 4kb and also consider the overall increase in size when adding a large number of images. After opening the database form and pasting the image into the object frame, I compacted and closed the database and rechecked the mdb file size, which was now 156b. Next, I opened a 4kb gif in Internet Explorer and placed the mouse over the image and selected 'copy' from the pop-up menu. The overall size of the mdb was 124kb without any images. I then used the Access form wizard to create a single form, which allows images to be added and displayed.įigure 1 shows a screenshot of the form created by the wizard. For example, I created an MS Access 2000 mdb with a single table consisting of two fields 'id' (an auto number field) and 'image' (an OLE field). MS Paint) and numerous other problems displaying the images.Īnother often cited complaint regarding this technique concerns the increase in the database size, resulting from storing images in this way due to the fact that Access creates and stores a bitmap version of the image as well. However, the first technique is by far the most problematic as judged by the number of newsgroup posts complaining about OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) server errors (this is the application which is used to display the image e.g. Store the image as a binary large object bitmap (BLOB) in an OLE field, extract the image when required and use an image control to display the image.Įach technique has advantages and disadvantages.Store the path to the image in a text field, using an image control to display the image.Store the image in an OLE field and use a bound object frame to display the image.In actual fact, there are three main techniques available to handle image files in tables with MS Access and these are: This has to be one of the most frequently asked questions in relation to Access.

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