You can open the dialog box directly from the attachment field in a table by double-clicking the field. You use the Attachments dialog box to add, edit, and manage attachments. Individual files cannot exceed 256 megabytes in size. You can attach a maximum of two gigabytes of data (the maximum size for an Access database). For example, you can store images, and files created with word processing and spreadsheet programs. You can store multiple files in a single record. After you set the data type to Attachments, you cannot change it. You must create a field in a table and set that field to the Attachments data type. You cannot share attachments between a Access (.accdb) database and a database in the earlier (.mdb) file format. You can attach files only to databases that you create in Access and that use the. Remember these guidelines as you work with attached files: For information about database design, see the article Database design basics. You cannot view or work with those tables.įor information about viewing other system tables, see the article Use the Navigation Pane.
However, attachments do not break any design rules, because as you attach files to a record, Access creates one or more system tables and uses those tables behind the scenes to normalize your data. So at first glance, attachments seem to break the rules of database design because you can attach more than one file - one piece of data - to a field. For example, if an address field contained more than one address, finding addresses would be difficult, if not impossible. Attachments and database design rulesīy default, each field in a relational database contains only one piece of data. In contrast, Access stores the attached files in their native formats with no supporting images, and you do not need to install additional software in order to view the images from within your database. For example, if you store JPEG image files in an Access database, every computer that runs that database requires another program that is registered as an OLE server for JPEG images. In addition, OLE requires programs called OLE servers to function. By using attachments, you open documents and other non-image files in their parent programs, so from within Access, you can search and edit those files. When you viewed an image or a document from your database, OLE showed you the bitmap image, not the original file. Those bitmap files could become quite large - as much as 10 times larger than the original file. By default, OLE created a bitmap equivalent of the image or document. Earlier versions of Access used a technology called Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) to store images and documents. You can now attach one or more resumes to the record for each contact, plus a photo of each contact.Īttachments also store data more efficiently. For example, let's say you own a job contacts database. You can use attachments to store several files in a single field, and you can even store multiple types of files in that field. Use attachments without a mouse or other pointing device This article provides the background information and steps needed to configure a database to use attachments, and to attach and manage data. You use the Attachment feature in Access to add one or more files - documents, presentations, images, and so on - to the records in your database.