Access and Images - Linking image table to a record table

[meyvn77]

Hello -
I am looking for the best way to store images in a Access DB.
My Idea -
I have a table with 150,000 records. These recoreds represent a Crash
(Traffic Accident).
I have 50 different images that represent almost any type of Accident.
Each crash record can be represented by one of those 50 images
(depending on the Crash Data).

I don't want to waste space by having each record have a BLOB field w/
the image in it.
I was thinking of having 2 tables one with a ID, and the image (50
records) and one with the 150,000 crash records. Then I want to link
the tables by ID and be able to plot the images on a VB form in VB
using ADO. I do not want to store the path of the image in the DB and
have the image outside the DB.
Do yall think I will be able to do this in this manner? If not any
altenatives would be very helpful.

Thanks,
Chuck

[Larry Linson]

<me*****@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:11**********************@z14g2000cwz.googlegr oups.com...

Yes Larry they are. I plan integrating such logic into a GIS System.
I create Crash Data Management Systems in ArcGIS.
Now with this approach do you see any pitfalls with displaying these
blobs in a VB form using an ADO connection and Queries?
You da man thanks.

It's pretty easy to display pictures, one of several ways, in an Access
form, using either an Image or a Bound Object Frame Control. VB has
different controls, but you can use either DAO (just include the library in
your references) or ADO to access the database, so I would imagine you
could. (I rarely ever use ADO, and I've never used the techniques in that
sample with VB -- in fact, it's been some time since I did anything in
classic VB, so I can't explain in detail _how_ you would go about it.)

Larry Linson
Microsoft Access MVP

[meyvn77]

Yes Larry they are. I plan integrating such logic into a GIS System.
I create Crash Data Management Systems in ArcGIS.
Now with this approach do you see any pitfalls with displaying these
blobs in a VB form using an ADO connection and Queries?
You da man thanks.

[Larry Linson]

Yes, I think you could. I haven't done it exactly that way, but I think you
might be able to adapt the code for storing images as BLOBs and the external
file approach from the downloadable example at http://accdev.tripod.com.

You would store an indicator of which of the 50 BLOBs you want to display in
the record, retrieve that BLOB into a temporary image file (as is done in
the BLOB technique), and set that files path and filename into the Picture
propery of an Image control.

Just as a matter of interest, are these 50 blobs something like the diagrams
one sees on some accident report forms, showing roads, vehicles, direction
of travel, etc.?

Larry Linson
Microsoft Access MVP

<me*****@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:11**********************@g43g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...

Hello -
I am looking for the best way to store images in a Access DB.
My Idea -
I have a table with 150,000 records. These recoreds represent a Crash
(Traffic Accident).
I have 50 different images that represent almost any type of Accident.
Each crash record can be represented by one of those 50 images
(depending on the Crash Data).

I don't want to waste space by having each record have a BLOB field w/
the image in it.
I was thinking of having 2 tables one with a ID, and the image (50
records) and one with the 150,000 crash records. Then I want to link
the tables by ID and be able to plot the images on a VB form in VB
using ADO. I do not want to store the path of the image in the DB and
have the image outside the DB.
Do yall think I will be able to do this in this manner? If not any
altenatives would be very helpful.

Thanks,
Chuck