I have a customer who would like a customization to an old, Visual Basic 5 application which uses an Access 97 database and Jet 3.5 as the database engine.
The desired customization requires a column to be added to an existing table. The following works fine:
strSQL = "ALTER TABLE Users ADD COLUMN Status BYTE"
pdbDatabase.Execute strSQL
However, I would like to set a default value (i.e. either 0 or 1) for the new column. I have tried the following and a number of variations:
strSQL = "ALTER TABLE Users ADD COLUMN Status BYTE DEFAULT 1"
But they all result in an error stating, "Syntax error in ALTER TABLE statement. (3293)"
In researching this problem, I've seen some information which eludes to the DEFAULT clause not being supported in my antiquated configuration of Access 97 and Jet 3.5.
Can anyone confirm this or point me in the right direction to get this to work?
Thanks for your help.
You could do this by using the DAO object.
Microsoft says this about modifying Access tables:
In addition, certain types of Microsoft Access-specific properties, such as the ValidationRule and DefaultValue properties of fields, can be set only through the Microsoft Access user interface or through DAO in code.
You can read more about it at the link below. There are examples although I didn't see where they specifically show using the DefaultValue property.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc966376.aspx
Per Access 97/Jet 3.5 SQL documentation no mention of the DEFAULT clause is made when describing the ALTER Table or CREATE Table statements. It is described as a new feature of Jet 4.0 here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/275561
The only way that I know for sure is to set a default value is to open up the table design in the gui and then under field properties enter a default value. Do you have access to an installation of Access 97?
Though, I'm also guessing that with VB/VBA you can probably access the default value property for the field and set or modify - just not using sql.
Related
I am using SSMA to convert from an Access db to a SQL 2019 DB.
There are some things I need to fix in the access DB so I am trying to figure out whether or not these things can be done via a query in access or you have to use the goofy UI and do everything manually.
So I had a couple of questions about queries in Microsoft Access:
Can you modify the 'required' attribute on a column within a table by using a query?
Can you configure Index (dupes) on a column by using a query?
Can you change validation rules using a query?
Can you create/delete relationships using a query?
Can you change the field length of a column by using a query?
Any examples of any of these would be helpful, when I google for ms access related things all of the content is either related to Access 2007/2010 or its very UI heavy rather than Query heavy.
I am trying to script this because I may have to do this migration several times.
Update: I was able to get most of what i needed figured out..
ALTER TABLE Users ALTER COLUMN Type CHECK(In ("I","U","") Or Is Null);
Still havent found a way to change the 'ValidationRule'.. trying to change it to
In ("I","U","") Or Is Null
Look into the Data Definition Language section of the MS Access SQL Reference, specifically the ALTER TABLE statement, which will cover the majority of your questions.
For example, in response to:
Can you change the field length of a column by using a query?
ALTER TABLE Table1 ALTER COLUMN Field1 TEXT(100)
The above will change the data type of the field Field1 within table Table1 to a text field accommodating 100 characters.
I'm trying to link an ODBC database - which I have no control on - in MS Access 2007 using a Machine Data Source - I don't know if that's relevant, from what I got this means that the access is set only on this computer -.
When I follow the wizard I can select the table but when the time comes to link it I get the error message:
The database engine can't find 'WTD.DATAPOINT_5/1000'. Make sure it is a valid parameter or alias name, that it doesn't include characters or punctuation, and that the name isn't too long
I think that the problem is that one of the field is named WTD.DATAPOINT_5/1000 and that Access interprets /as a symbol of its own.
The thing is that I don't even need the data stored in this column. Right now I don't know which way to go.
Find a way to tell Access that the / is part of the field name. (Highly improbable)
Retrieve only some fields from the table using built-in Access functions.
Set the connection manually using vba and retrieving only some of the fiels. If this is the way to go I would like some pointers as I have no idea where to start.
Solution number 2: use a passthrough SQL query.
Everything is explained in this tutorial.
Solution number 3: I tried to connect directly in VBA. The code bellow works like a charm for other tables but I still get an error for the table containing the problematic field.
Dim ConnectionStr As String
ConnectionStr = "ODBC;Driver={Oracle in OraHome92};Dbq=BLA1;Uid=BLA2;Pwd=BLA3;"
DoCmd.TransferDatabase acImport, "ODBC Database", ConnectionStr, acTable, "MyTable", "NewTable"
I'm attempting to run a simple statement against an Access DB to find records.
Data validation in the records was horrible, and I cannot sanitize it. Meaning, it must be preserved as is.
I need to be able to search against a string with white space and hyphen characters removed. The following statement will work in Access 2010 direct:
select * from dummy where Replace(Replace([data1],' ',''),'-','') = 'ABCD1234';
Running it from an ODBC connection via PHP will not. It produces the following error:
SQL error: [Microsoft][ODBC Microsoft Access Driver] Undefined function 'Replace' in expression., SQL state 37000 in SQLExecDirect
Creating a query in the database that runs the function and attempting to search its values indirectly causes the same error:
select * from dummy_indirect where Expr1 = 'ABCD1234';
I've attempted to use both ODBC drivers present. ODBCJR32.dll (03/22/2010) and ACEODBC.dll (02/18/2007). To my knowledge these should be current as it was installed with the full Access 2010 and Access 2010 Database Engine.
Any ideas on how to work around this error and achieve the same effect are welcome. Please note, that I cannot alter the database in way, shape, or form. That indirect query was created in another mdb file that has the original tables linked from the original DB.
* Update *
OleDB did not really affect anything.
$dsn= "Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0;Data Source=c:\dummy.mdb;";
I'm not attempting to use it as a web backend either. I'm not a sadomasochist.
There is a legacy system that I must support that does use Access as a backend. Data gets populated there from other old systems that I must integrate into more modern systems. Hence, the creation of an API with Apache/PHP that is running on the server supporting the legacy system.
I need to be able to search a table that has an alphanumeric case identifier to get a numeric identifier that is unique and tied to a generator (Autonumber in access). Users have been using it a trash box for years (inconsistent data entry with sporadic notations) so the only solution I have is to strip everything except alphanumeric out of both the field value and the search value and attempt to perform a LIKE comparison against it.
If not replace() which is access supported, what ODBC compatible functions exist that I can use do the same kind of comparison?
Just to recap, the Access db engine will not recognize the Replace() function unless your query is run from within an Access application session. Any attempt from outside Access will trigger that "Undefined function" error message. You can't avoid the error by switching from ODBC to OleDb as the connection method. And you also can't trick the engine into using Replace() by hiding it in separate query (in the same or another Access db) and using that query as the data source for your main query.
This behavior is determined by Access' sandbox mode. That linked page includes a list of functions which are available in the default sandbox mode. That page also describes how you can alter the sandbox mode. If you absolutely must have Replace() available for your query, perhaps the lowest setting (0) would allow it. However, I'm not recommending you do that. I've never done it myself, so don't know anything about the consequences.
As for alternatives for Replace(), it would help to know about the variability in the values you're searching. If the space or dash characters appear in only one or a few consistent positions, you could do a pattern match with a Like expression. For example, if the search field values consist of 4 letters, an optional space or dash, followed by 4 digits, a WHERE clause like this should work for the variations of "ABCD1234":
SELECT * FROM dummy
WHERE
data1 = 'ABCD1234'
OR data1 Like 'ABCD[- ]1234';
Another possibility is to compare against a list of values:
SELECT * FROM dummy
WHERE
data1 IN ('ABCD1234','ABCD 1234','ABCD-1234');
However if your search field values can include any number of spaces or dashes at any position within the string, that approach is no good. And I would look real hard for some way to make the query task easier:
You can't clean the stored values because you're prohibited from altering the original Access db in any way. Perhaps you could create a new Access db, import the data, and clean that instead.
Set up the original Access db as a linked server in SQL Server and build your query to take advantage of SQL Server features.
Surrender. :-( Pull in a larger data set to your PHP client code, and evaluate which rows to use vs. which to ignore.
I'm not sure you can do this with ODBC and your constraints. The MS Access driver is limited (by design; MS wants you to use SQL Server for back ends).
Can you use OLEDB? that might be an option.
Does anyone have an idea what this error means or how to solve it? I am using Access 2003 and SQL2005. It comes up when trying to add a record on a particular subform.
[Microsoft][SQL Native Client] Invalid character value for cast specification (#0)
This MS bug report describes the same message, but it is a bug in SQL Server 6.5 that has already been solved.
Solved: Apparently having no PK on the destination table was causing this, it didn't have anything to do with the subform or the query from Access. I wasn't even aware there were tables in this database without PK. Adding PK to the destination table solved it. The strange thing is the same query string that errored when executed via SQL native client, executed through SSMS with no errors. Hope this helps anyone else who has come across that strange message.
Hum, I would check the text box default on the access side. I would also bring up the linked table in design mode, and you want to check the data type that ms-access assumes here. For non supported data types ms-access will generally use a string, and sql server might be wanting something else.
So, check both the Primary key (PK) in main table, and then check the data type used (assumed) in the child table for the foreign key (FK) column. While we are at this, check your expressions used for the child/master link settings in the sub-form control (not the form, not the sub-form, but the sub-form control used in your form that links up these two tables).
Sub forms in access are sensitive if you don’t have a timestamp column in the sql server table. As mentioned check the PK and the FK data types and make sure they match up (just bring up the tables in design mode in ms-access -- you get an error message about the design mode being read only, but just continue on so you can check/view to ensure the data types match up).
So for the child table, you need a PK, a FK, and also a timestamp column (you don’t have to display the TS column in the sub-form, but you need it in the table).
Sub-forms in ms-access are sensitive and often fail if you don’t include a timestamp column in the sql table. (access uses these row version columns to determine if the data been changed).
Is one of your fields in the view calculated/built with the CAST function? In this case, you might not have the right to update/add a value for that field.
Can you execute your view in the MS SQL Studio interface and try to insert a record?
Another cause to this issue is that if you change a table name without alterting the view then the "Dependencies" of that view still remians with the table old name.
Let say I have a table 'A' and a view 'Av' which derives from 'A', and I created a new Table which will be named 'A' and I changed 'A's name to 'A_old' but I didn't executed an ALTER VIEW, so the dependencies of 'Av' still remain on 'A_old' but the view is derives from 'A' and it cuasing this Error in Access when trying to open the view as a linked table
I just spent a day battling this with an Access ADP project that was imported into a new Access 2016 ACCDB file. Initially I figured it was an issue with the application code, but I was getting this keying records directly into the table. Interestingly, the records always got written - it seemed to be the read-back that was triggering the error. Profiling the insert sql and running that from SQL Management Studio worked without any issues.
The table that was causing the problems had a GUID Primary Key. Switching that to an int column resolved the issue.
The SQL database was also littered with a few thousand extended properties which I removed before switching the PK. There was a strong suggestion from the web that these cause problems. The source of that process is documented here: Remove All SQL Extended Properties
I had this problem with Access 2016 trying to update an ODBC linked sQL Server database. Problem was a null value in field used to join the two tables. Eliminating the null value solved the problem
OK I just had this bad experience and it had nothing to do with PK or any of this stuff in my situation. The view that reported this problem in Access was created in SQL Server originally and used a CAST of DATETIME to plain old DATE to get rid of the unneeded time part. Up until today this view had caused 0 issues in Access, but started to generate heartburn just as described above.
So, I generated a Drop/Create script for the MSS view, ran it, relinked the views in Access, and the Access database was happy with the result. All my so-called tables in Access are basically views through links to MSS for reporting. I only have 1 table that actually does changes. Other than that, I do not edit through views in Access.
The message is of course useless as usual but this was my solution in my situation.
Based solely in the message you provided above, it appears that you are trying to set an invalid value to some field or parameter, etc... The message is telling you that it is trying to convert a value into an specific data type but the value is invalid for that data type... makes sense?
Please add more details so we can help you better.
Updating an old ASP/Access site for a client - I need SQL to add a column to an existing table and set a default value. Doesn't work - any ideas?
This works fine
ALTER TABLE documents ADD COLUMN membersOnly NUMBER
I want this to work:
ALTER TABLE documents ADD COLUMN membersOnly NUMBER DEFAULT 0
Have googled and seen instructions for default values work for other field types but I want to add number. Thanks!
Tools -> Options -> Tables/Queries -> (At the bottom right:) Sql Server Compatible Syntax - turn option on for this database.
then you can execute your query:
ALTER TABLE documents ADD COLUMN membersOnly NUMBER DEFAULT 0
With ADO, you can execute a DDL statement to create a field and set its default value.
CurrentProject.Connection.Execute _
"ALTER TABLE discardme ADD COLUMN membersOnly SHORT DEFAULT 0"
How are you connecting to the database to run the update SQL? You can use the ODBC compatible mode through ADO. Without opening the database in Access.
You may find Sql Server Compatible Syntax is already turned on, so definately worth just trying to run the sql statement mentioned above (via an ADO connection from ASP) before resorting to taking the db offline. Thanks, this helped me out.
Tools -> Options -> Tables/Queries -> (At the bottom right:) Sql Server Compatible Syntax - turn option on for this database.
is not found on MS Access 2010