Pictures and OLE objects in a table

[Shane Sztekel via AccessMonster.com]

Hello
I am using a program called Datacard Preface which, among other things, we
use to design and print student photo ID cards. Once an ID card is designed
the software automatically creates and 'communicates' with an Access file.
The variable information in the card design (name, student no. etc) finds its
way into the Access table. Information typed into the Access table will also
appear in Preface when printing the cards. I am very new to Access and so far
have only been able to copy the student names from Excel into the table to
save entering them in one by one through Preface. This works fine with text.
I am hoping to be able to link the relevant student picture into the Access
database so I won't need to enter them in manually through the Preface
software. Currently when a picture is located and saved in Preface, a field
appears in the Access table named 'OLE Object'. Is there a way I can place a
'link' into this photo field which relates to a student pic? For example,
search for image (student ID no.).jpg in folder C\Pics

Sorry for the long message but I have spent many hours searching for an
answer before posting my question.

Thanks!
Shane.

 

[Larry Linson]

I am using a program called Datacard
Preface which, among other things, we
use to design and print student photo ID
cards. Once an ID card is designed
the software automatically creates and
'communicates' with an Access file.
The variable information in the card design
(name, student no. etc) finds its way into
the Access table. Information typed into
the Access table will also appear in Preface
when printing the cards. I am very new to
Access and so far have only been able to
copy the student names from Excel into
the table to save entering them in one by
one through Preface. This works fine with text.
I am hoping to be able to link the relevant
student picture into the Access database so
I won't need to enter them in manually
through the Preface software. Currently
when a picture is located and saved in Preface,
a field appears in the Access table named
'OLE Object'. Is there a way I can place a
'link' into this photo field which relates to a
student pic? For example, search for image
(student ID no.).jpg in folder C\Pics

The sample imaging databases at http://accdevel.tripod.com illustrate three
approaches to handling images in Access, and the download includes an
article discussing considerations in choosing an approach. Two of the
approaches do not use OLE Objects and, thus, avoid the database bloat, and
some other problems, associated with images in OLE Objects.

In your case, the software you are using determines that you use OLE
objects, so you can ignore the discussion on whether or not to use
particular approaches. It will require some understanding of VBA code, but
it isn't "rocket science", and you should be able to adapt the code for
acquiring images into OLE Objects, provided you have access to the tables
(link them from your separate Access database that you use for your user
interface).

If you are printing the images in reports, to avoid memory leakage, you
should also see MVP Stephen Lebans' http://www.lebans.com/printfailures.htm.
PrintFailure.zip is an Access97 MDB containing a report that fails during
the Access formatting process prior to being spooled to the Printer Driver.
This MDB also contains code showing how to convert the contents of the Image
control to a Bitmap file prior to printing. This helps alleviate the "Out of
Memory" error that can popup when printing image intensive reports.

Larry Linson
Microsoft Access MVP