Forms & Reports:
Record Images: Bound Object Frame

Step-by-Step: Record Images

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What you will learn:

to add images to records with:     Insert Objects dialog     drag and drop     copy and paste to compact database to compare database file sizes

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Start with:  ,  resource files, worldtravel.mdb from the previous lesson

You will add images to your Staff table records. It will be interesting to see what effect on the database's file size the images will have.

Warning: File Size Increase
As you add images to records in this lesson, the database file size will increase a LOT. Be sure that the disk you are saving your database to has LOTS of empty space. I needed over 30 MB. I did a lot of experimenting with objects and images. You may need to use a copy of the file on a hard disk for this part.

Backup Database

Before adding any images or new objects, you need a copy of the database at its smallest size. Backing up the database is the easiest way to get that. Besides, you should be making backups regularly anyway.

1. Close any open forms or tables and save if necessary.
    

2. From the menu select  File | Back Up Database...
   The Save Backup As dialog opens.
    

3. If necessary, navigate to your databases project4 folder on your Class disk.
    

4. Save with the name worldtravel_beforerecordimages.mdb.
   The database closes. A copy is made with the name that you chose. The original database opens.
   You will see security warnings again if you saw them the first time you opened the database.
    

5. Open a My Computer window and navigate to your Class disk to the databases project4 folder. You should see worldtravel.mdb, worldtravel_beforeimages.mdb, and worldtravel_beforerecordimages.mdb.

   

   Write down the sizes of these files. (They are almost certainly different from the illustration!) As you work, the database size increases. Compacting it reduces the size somewhat. When you do a backup, the file is automatically compacted as part of the process.
   
   You can leave the My Computer window open.

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Insert Image in Record: OLE Dialog

You can add an image to a table directly in Table Datasheet View or in Form Datasheet View. The image won't display in the datasheet. So you will usually add an image to a record via a form. You can insert the picture as an object or drag the file from a My Computer window and drop it on the control. You will try all of these in this section!

Disclaimer: All of the images of people are from clip art collections.

1. Open the form Staff-formatted.
    
2. Switch to Datasheet View.
    
3. Scroll to the Photograph field. This column is blank.
   
   
4. Click in the first row in the Photograph column.
    
5. Right click and select  Insert Object...
   A dialog opens.
    
6. Select the second option, Create from File.
   The initial path is to where you last choose an object.
    
7. Click on the Browse button.
   A Browse dialog opens for you to navigate to the object that you want.
    
8. Navigate to where you saved the resource files.
    
9. Select the image luisperez.bmp
    
   The icon beside the image will match the program that is associated with BMP files. In the illustration, the icon is for MS Paint.
    
10. Click on OK.
    You are back in the previous dialog, but there is a new path in the text box.
     
    You can choose here whether you want to link to the image or if you want to display a clickable icon instead of the image itself in a form or report. (Not a good choice for a printed report!)
     
11. Click on OK.
    The graphics program that is associated with BMP images may open. The field is an OLE Object type. Access does not know how to handle objects but relies on the original program to tell it how to display it.
     
12. If necessary, switch to the form datasheet window.
    The datasheet shows text in the field.
    
    What text you see will depend on what graphics program is associated with the BMP file format.
     
    Problem: You see "Package" in the datasheet
    Access does not have the correct OLE server installed. In this case, in Form View you will see the name of the file and possibly a small, poor quality bitmap of the image.
    Solution: Install a graphics program that can handle the file format and will work with OLE objects.
     
13. Switch to Form View to see the image.
    Better! In this view you have a chance of noticing if you inserted the wrong image since you can easily see whose record this is. In the Form Datasheet View the person's name was out of sight to the left and you could not see the image itself or even the file name.
     

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Insert Image in Record: Drag and Drop

In both Form View and Datasheet View, you can drag and drop files into OLE controls. This can be easier than going through the OLE Object dialog over and over.

1. In the Form View of the Staff-formatted form, change to record #2, Hector Chavez.
    
2. Click on the Photograph control to select it.
    
3. Open a My Computer window to the folder where you saved the databases resource files.
    
4. Position the windows so that you can see the form also.
    
5. Drag the file chavez.bmp from the My Computer window and drop it on the Photograph control.
    
   The photo appears in the control.
   There may be a noticeable delay while Access does its magic.

   The image is cut off. The default value for Size Mode is Clip, which shows only the part of the image that will fit into the control, starting from the upper left corner.
    
   We will fix this shortly.

    

6. Leave both windows open.
    

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Insert Image in Record: Copy and Paste

If you are editing an image to crop or resize, it is easy to copy the image directly from the graphics software and paste to the form control. You cannot link the image when you paste it into a control. It might not have been saved any where at all!

1. In the My Computer window, double-click the file named gardner.bmp.
   The image opens in the program that is associated with the BMP file type.
   
    
   Image did not open in an editing program
   
   If you do not have a graphics program installed, then double-clicking the file will probably open the image in Windows Picture and Fax Viewer, which does not have editing tools. Click the next to last button on the right to open the picture for editing.
   Alternately, you can close the viewer window, right click on the file name and choose Open With... Then choose a program from the list.
    
2. For MS Paint, from the menu select  Edit | Select All  and then on  Edit | Copy
   OR
   Use the key combo CTRL + A and then CTRL + C.
   These menu commands and key combos should work in most programs. If not, investigate the menus to find commands to select the whole image and copy it.
    
3. Switch to the form.
    
4. If necessary, click on the Photograph control to select it.
    
5. Paste.
   Whoops. The image is cut off.
    
6. If necessary, open the Properties dialog for the control.
   The Size Mode property shows Clip, which is exactly what Access did to your image.
    
7. Change the Size Mode to Zoom.
   Now the image shows completely. There is a strip of background showing at the bottom of the control and the quality is not quite as good. Access is not a graphics program!
    
8. Navigate back to records 1 and 2. How did changing to Zoom affect them?
   
   The first record is not so pretty now. Access does not always do a good job of resizing. The second photo looks good. Images will look the best when the size closely matches the size of the control.
    
9. Add images from your resource files to each of the remaining records, using the method(s) of your choice. The images are named with the last name of the staff member.
    
10. View all of the records with Clip, Stretch, and Zoom settings.

    Evaluate:  Which setting works best for the most images? Which images will need to be revised in order to look good with your choice of Size Mode?
     

11. Save the form Staff-formatted with your choice of Size Mode.

Resize with a graphics program: You will get better results using a graphics program to resize the image to the correct size for your control so you can use the Clip setting. For this form you need to crop the image to a square size and then resize, if necessary, to 1.5" square. Then you can sharpen the image. 

Crop and Reduce Size With MS Paint:
It requires a good eye and some experimenting to use MS Paint to revise your images. MS Paint does not have a Crop tool or a Resize tool like other graphics programs.

Work around for cropping: Open the image in MS Paint. Select a section of the image using the rectangular Select tool. (Try for a square shape selection.) Copy. File | New to open a new blank canvas. Paste. If there is extra white around the image, click in the white area and drag on the tiny handles until the white vanishes at the edges of the image.

Work around for resizing: From the menu select Image | Stretch/Skew and use a percentage less than 100% for both Stretch dimensions. (Your best guess) Click on OK. This will reduce the size of the image without making it jagged. Select View | Attributes to see what size your image is now. If you don't like the size, close the Attributes dialog, Undo and try again. Save your image as a bitmap for use in Access.

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Compare File Size Again

Now that you have added images to the records,  will there be any difference in the file size?

1. Verify that all database objects are saved.
    
2. Switch to the My Computer window (If necessary open one and navigate to your Class disk to the databases project4 folder. )
    
3. Compare the current size of worldtravel.mdb to the size of worldtravel_beforerecordimages.mdb, which was the size of worldtravel.mdb at the beginning of this lesson. There should be a significant difference!
   
   Note: Your file sizes are almost certainly different from mine! I did a lot more work and tinkering that you probably did.
    
4. Switch to the Access window for worldtravel.mdb.
    
5. From the menu select  Tools | Database Utilities | Compact and Repair database...
   The database closes, compacts, and reopens.
    
6. Switch to the My Computer window.
    
7. Write down the file size.
   
   Did the World Travel database change sizes much after compacting? Probably!  How does its size now compare to the size before adding the record images? (Mine shrank to less than a third of the previous size. Your file sizes are likely to be different from mine!)