Access Field Count Limit

[ericbu]

I'm currently working with SQL tables via ODBC. Some of these tables have an large number of fields. I can link to them all into Crystal Reports 8.5, but when I link to the same table objects in Access, I get only some of the fields and the rest are dropped without any warning or error message. Is there a field count limit in Access? Is there any way around this?

Thanks!

 

[Tranman]

There is a field count limit of 255, both in Tables and Recordsets. If there is a way around it, I didn't find it, and I looked pretty hard...

The only way I came up with to "cheat" the limitation was to concatenate several text fields into memo fields with delimiters between them, then parse them out later in the process. It was really ugly, but it did work.

Check out this link:

http://www.business-concepts.co.uk/database-capeabilities.htm

Good Luck,
Tranman

 

[MichaelRed]

The limit is a 'reflection' of relational database design theory. In the general sense, 255 'fields' are an indicator of de-normalized design. In almost all instances where a design even approaches this value, careful syudy of the situation shows htat breaking the monolithic recordset into several RELATED recordsets is more appropiate.

Further, Ms. A. counts items OTHER than "FIELDS" in the number. Each index and each element of compound indicies are 'added' to the Fields.Count in determining the total number 'fields' in the recordset.

Ms. A. is hardly alone in limiting the niumber of fields in a recordset, as even the 'industrial strength' databases have limits.





MichaelRed
m.red@att.net

Searching for employment in all the wrong places

 

[ericbu]

Thanks to both of you. I found a work-around with SPSS's database utility. It handles the fields via ODBC just fine. I think I can do what I want to do with it and Crystal, which also works okay.

Eric