Some help with images

[FizzyWocky]

I am writing an access DB [in A2K] with a user interface that has a number of images [24 in total] these images can change dynamically [from any one of 40 JPG files].

All these images are small enough and i originally thought about how i would go about doing this, one solution is to put all the images on the form and make the ones i want visible, but this is not very neat [having 800 images on the form] and if i wanted to add another image to the selection it would just make it unweildy.

Is there any other way to do it?

perhaps putting all the images into a DB and using a macro to make the images refer to the right picture? [i'm guessing now LOL]

Any solution must be seamless to the user, i tried to load the images [creating an unbound object with a link to an image and changing the Source Doc] but it took a bit too long [sometimes i'm changing 10 images at once and it's not perfect to have the user wait over a second for all the images to change.

I am quite new to Access VBA so any ideas, suggestions, examples would be a great help

 

[Darrylles]

Hi,

Can you clarify please: 24 in total, any one of 40, '800 images on form'.

HOW MANY images? How many at once? Is there an image per record?

If you cant define what you want clearly and succinctly, then you cant be helped.

What are you attempting to do?

Regards,

Darrylle


Never argue with an idiot, he'll bring you down to his level - then beat you with experience. darrylles@yahoo.co.uk

 

[FizzyWocky]

there are always 24 images on display at any one time [their position is static] but the contents of each image can be one of 40 graphic JPG's

so in effect there are 24 images per record

 

[Darrylles]

Hi,

Roger that.

You have said 'perhaps putting the images into a db'.

How are they store/displayed now?

Regards,

Darrylle

Never argue with an idiot, he'll bring you down to his level - then beat you with experience. darrylles@yahoo.co.uk

 

[Darrylles]

Hi Fizz,

Sorry - you obviously can look at images at the mo.

Is that ALL you have - images?

Do they have data associated with them perhaps that you'd also like to see?

Regards,

Darrylle

Never argue with an idiot, he'll bring you down to his level - then beat you with experience. darrylles@yahoo.co.uk

 

[FizzyWocky]

Sorry if i'm not very good at explaining it,

there is a macro that does a few queries, plays with the data and then builds the form - this form has no direct corralation to one exact record.

it's got sections - each section has an image associated, this image is always one of 40 [detailing the severity setting] - every few seconds the form does a requery and i want the images to update seamlessly

 

[Darrylles]

Hi,

OK, will be better for you to explain (simply) what your form does (i.e. 'shows to the user'), and what the info means to the user.

You are talking about 'sections' and degrees of severity.

I've a feeling that the tables aren't right, and designing the tables may take MUCH less time than hacking the current (AND save you time in the future).

Maybe the tables ARE right, but please explain in more detail.


Regards,

Darrylle



Never argue with an idiot, he'll bring you down to his level - then beat you with experience. darrylles@yahoo.co.uk

 

[FizzyWocky]

Ok - here goes,

this is one form that is a summary form for one user [this is a multi-user DB] it corrilates info from a number of tables, there are currently 24 sections that are reported on - this could change [probably increase] each one has different search criteria [based on silly user rules LOL] - anyway for each section i pick out important data, display that and based on the severity of the "important data" an image is displayed next to it

 

[Darrylles]

Hi,

OK.

So if there were 25 sections, how would that affect you?

Could 25 be displayed - now?

D

Never argue with an idiot, he'll bring you down to his level - then beat you with experience. darrylles@yahoo.co.uk

 

[FizzyWocky]

I created a table with all the 40 images in as OLE Objects, is it possible to put them into bound or unbound objects? all on one form?

I can't seem to change the Control Source to point to One record in the table, and changing the record source means that only one image is available.

I am more of a back-end programmer, all this UI stuff is new to me LOL

 

[Darrylles]

Hi,

Ok - table design IS the issue I think now.

Remember, that a form displays a record at a time.
If you have 'continuous form' display, then it displays multiple records, but the images must be in seperate records.

I think that you need to know about 1-to-many relationships between tables.

If you know about this, then say so, otherwise; what tables do you have and what fields in each table?

You still have not described the aim of your application - please give an overvue (what will your user(s) do with it?)



Darrylle


Never argue with an idiot, he'll bring you down to his level - then beat you with experience. darrylles@yahoo.co.uk

 

[FizzyWocky]

OK

This form doesn't display a record as such, not in the traditional Access manner - all the fields within the form are populated with a macro - i can't change the tables in existance altho i can create new ones.

it's not a continuous form.

i know about standard DB stuff [i've worked with SQL for a few years] i've just never used OLE stuff.

This is a portal/summary page, the Images all take you to other forms [dependant on what the image is].

If i have a table of all the 40 jpg's as oleObjects

Idealy i want to be able to say in my macro

Image1.contents = TableOfImages.record[5].oleObject
Image2.contents = TableOfImages.record[20].oleObject
Image3.contents = TableOfImages.record[35].oleObject

and the form show the images associated.

 

[Darrylles]

Hi,

I'm sorry. I probably can't help you further without a novel of further questions.

This is the problem with MS Access applications written by novices who are deemed to be experts because the end application 'looks' good.
Your boss will say - 'it works! doesn't it?' as a defence.
Point is, can he/she find someone to understand it, to enhance it?
Yep - he/she can, but it'll cost 10/20 times more.

Better to invest 5 times more initially and to a standard, and then it can be updated/enhanced at a reasonable cost in the future.

Your app seems to have been written by such an 'expert'.
The macros that your application has will be pretty well un-traceable and debugging will be a nightmare.

Even if an expert developer had the application on his/her machine, it would take them 10 times longer to work out the logic etc. than if professional programming techniques had been used.

What I can tell you, is that your app. refers to an array of image data type called TableOfImages defined somewhere in some macro.

How your application handles these images and with relation to what record - god-knows.

It may be a good idea to get the app re-developed - discarding ALL macros. If the app is small in complexity, look at doing this yourself, ALL current data can be re-used - no problem, nothing need be lost.

It sounds relatively simple.

Kind regards,

Darrylle

Never argue with an idiot, he'll bring you down to his level - then beat you with experience. darrylles@yahoo.co.uk

 

[FizzyWocky]

It's all written by myself - and yes i have no knowledge of frontend programming, i have however written a pretty complex backend and i need a "standalone" set of MI forms that i can just plug into the tables - it's not a comercial package at all [maybe someday but that's a long way off LOL]

I know it's a classic case of an app that's evolved out of the bounds of it's original design LOL - [the original design only had 4 sections and i had all the images there [all hidden except the ones i wanted to show]

I was hoping there would be a simple answer and that it was just something i was missing.

I was hoping that i could just put something in the Control Source of the Bound object that was line "SELECT [TableOfImages]![oleObject] WHERE [TableOfImages]![Key]=4"

oh well