Getting the image to display is usually down to having the relevant OLE Server application installed and
associated with the relevant file type. MS Photo Editor is often used for this, depending on the type
of images that you use, so you may need to be install this from the Office CD and ensure that it is (and
remains) associated with the file-types that you wish to handle. Needless to say, this can be quite an
administrative headache if you need to use the database on several different systems.
However, using OLE Embedding (and sometimes also OLE Linking) can give rise to a significant storage overhead,
as much as 10 to 100 *times* the size of the original file for jpeg, plus it can be difficult to extract
the original files if needed, or to interoperate with VB, IIS etc.
As an alternative, if you want to store the images actually in the database, consider using raw binary
storage which avoids the overhead and other storage issues. Otherwise, just store the files externally
and load them into an image control at runtime. Store the filename in a text field or generate it at runtime,
e.g. from an id field, combined with a path, such as relative to the database file or through a UNC share
etc.
Finally, in case you're interested in a third party solution, our image control provides a simple solution
to these issues plus enhanced functionality (zoom, scroll, rotate, resample/thumbnail, EXIF, TWAIN etc).
For more info see the site below.
