saving and retrieving pictures using vb6 and ms access

[Hiram13]

Hi
Am developing a school software and i have a form named Admission which i want to include the pictures of students, i have managed to upload the picture using this code:

Private Sub Command1_Click()
 Dim pic As StdPicture
dlgPicture.Filter = "Pictures (*.bmp;*.jpg)|*.bmp;*jpg|"
dlgPicture.ShowOpen
filen = dlgPicture.FileName
Picture1.Picture = LoadPicture(filen)
End Sub

The problem now is how to save and retrieve those pictures. Am using VB6.0 connecting to MS Access database using module and i want pictures to be saved in table admission field called images
Can someone please help!

[Mihail]

As far as I know (maybe I am wrong), a picture can't be stored in Access database. But the picture path can.

Assuming that you already have a form bounded to table Admission, create a new field (Student_Pic) in this table and store here the path(s) to every student picture.

Then manage that your Picture control to be updated using the properly path (the path stored in the new created field).

Hope this is a help for you.

[Killer42]

Actually, this topic has been covered here more than once. Try the search box.

I did a quick search for the terms "vb access save image" and found a couple of likely-sounding entries...

• The BLOB (not the movie!)
• BLOB - Save image to database

[Hiram13]

thanks guys i was able to save and retrieve pictures using this code:

Dim arrImageByte() As Byte
    Dim fNum As Integer
 
    Dim rs As New ADODB.Recordset
    Dim strPhotoPath As String
    Dim isImage As Boolean
    If Me.imgPhoto.Picture <> LoadPicture("") Then
        SavePicture Me.imgPhoto.Picture, App.Path & "\tmpphoto.jpg"
        strPhotoPath = App.Path & "\tmpphoto.jpg"
 
        ReDim arrImageByte(FileLen(strPhotoPath))
        fNum = FreeFile()
        Open strPhotoPath For Binary As #fNum
        Get #fNum, , arrImageByte
        Close fNum
 
        isImage = True
    End If
 
    rs.Open "student", conn, adOpenStatic, adLockOptimistic, adCmdTable
 
    With rs
        .AddNew
        .Fields("Name") = Me.txtName.Text
 
        If isImage = True Then _
            .Fields("photo").AppendChunk arrImageByte
        .Update
 
    End With
 
    rs.Close
    Set rs = Nothing

[Killer42]

Glad to see you found a solution, and thanks for sharing it. This will be helpful for others who come searching with similar questions.

I think it'd be fair to say that pretty much anything you can get into your computer can be stored in your database, somehow.

As Mihail said, you could store the images elsewhere and just include some sort of link in the database. I personally find it more convenient to keep everything together in the database. Each approach has its good and bad points.

Don't forget to take into consideration what this image will do to your record size. If you do come across any database issues, keep in mind our Access Forum.