Linking Access Tables to Paradox 1

[woodyinoz]

I have an Access table which is constantly being updated and I want to use it in Paradox, linking it to other Paradox tables.

I know I can convert the Access table to a dBase table but this means that I may not be using the most recent data because I'd be copying the oringinal all of the time.

Can anyone help with this?

Woody.

 

[footpad]

Woody,

It's certainly possible, but much depends on the versions involved. Could you list the versions of Access, BDE, ODBC, and Paradox you're using?

Getting the versions of Access, ODBC, and Paradox are pretty straightforward, simply check the About boxes.

However, there's a trick to getting the BDE version, which I've documented at

http://techtricks.com/paradox/bdeversion.php3.

While the BDE Administrator does display a version number in its About box, that's the version of the Administrator, not BDE itself.

Once we have those tidbits, it should be possible to tell you what you'll need.

It basically boils down to verifying that the configuration is set up properly and then creating a new MSACCESS type alias that points to your MDB.

Once you've done that, then you use the standard techniques for linking and using tables.

Hope this helps...

-- Lance

 

[woodyinoz]

Ok, the versions in use are as follows-

Paradox Version 8.0
ODBC Version 3.5
DBE Version 4.0
Access Version 4.0

Hopefully this will enable you to give me a good idea of what to do.

Thanks,

Woody.

 

[footpad]

Woody,

OK, here are some initial steps:

1. Upgrade BDE to 5.1.1. You can download it from

http://www.borland.com/devsupport/bde/bdeupdate.html

for free. You want the Professional version, I think. (Be sure to close Paradox, Access, the various administrators and so forth before running the setup.) The enterprise version may also work, depending on the edition of Paradox 8 you installed. (If memory serves, the WPO 8/Pro install included the SQL Links as well. I may be wrong about that.)

There's a 5.2 update available, though I haven't used it yet, so I can't say whether or not it cleans up any issues in this area.

2. Once that's installed, you should be able to go into Paradox, create a new MSACCESS alias, point it at your MDB file and go from there.

Mind you, there are some versioning issues. See

http://community.borland.com/article/0,1410,21480,00.html

for more details.

Note that you might have to update ODBC, MDAC , and other MS files. You can those those updates at

http://www.microsoft.com/data/download.htm.

The hard part of all of this is getting the configuration squared away; one's that's done, it really is as simple as creating an alias.

Hope this helps...

-- Lance

 

[Yahalla]

Hi -- The information in your above post is wonderful. I was wondering if you could help me with another issue along the same vein. My versions seem to be fine according to the above information, but I am having trouble with the formatting. After indicating that I want to attach a table, I format the alias, table name and field name as follows:

&quot;[:Audrey:Aurdey Test.Field2]&quot; <---I know the second Audrey is misspelled, I goofed up the table)

I have tried just about every variation of this format with no success. Could you help me, too?

Thanks.

Yahalla