Keep DB small when adding jpg photos

[Davy in NM]

I have an ACCESS 2003 database that is 0.540MB. I
decided to add 271 JPEG photos to it. The JPEG files
range in size from 32 to 45 KB. Internally they are
200x200 pixels. The total size of the photos I'm adding
is 10.07MB.

If I insert the photos in a table as OLE objects, the
ACCESS file grows to 102.8MB!!! If I enter the links
rather than insert the JPEG files themselves, the
database still grows to 66.9MB. These sizes are after
having issued the compact command.

I ran across a way to link all 271 jpg photos and wind up
with a database that is only 0.584MB! It involves using
an Image frame (with links to the photos) rather than a
Bound Object (OLE) frame in both forms and reports. Only
the link text is stored in the table, no OLE info.

FYI: The details are given in the Microsoft Press
book, "Microsoft Office ACCESS 2003 Inside-Out" by John
Viescas beginning on page 872.

Buying the book sure saved me a lot of disk space.

DISCLAIMER: I am not associated with Microsoft or
Microsoft Press or any bookstore or publisher, and I've
never had any contact with Mr. Viescas. I'm just a guy
who does not like to waste disk space.

 

[Douglas J. Steele]

Yeah, John knows his stuff.

Access has never been good at storing binary stuff such as images, so
keeping the images external to access and just storing the location of the
file is the best approach. If you really do need to store the images in your
database, though, check what Stephen Lebans has at
http://www.lebans.com/loadsavejpeg.htm