I’m new to Libre Office. I have some familiarity with MS Access 2007 and earlier. I need to know if it is possible to link a record to a specific .jpeg file, and if so, which field type to use.
If you link jpeg files instead of embedding them, an embedded HSQL does not impose any higher risk. Just develop your database and when the tables, relations and indices are finished convert the embedded database into a stand-alone database.
https://forum.openoffice.org/en/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=86071
I use text fields to contain the path to the jpeg or other files.
In a form you can then bind a graphic field to this textfield and the referenced file/picture is shown in the form.
This avoids storing the images in the database with blob-fields.
Thanks for the response. My database experience is with the old Microsoft Access apps (2000 - 2007) and doing very little VisualBasic coding, so pardon my ignorance. Couple of follow-up questions: 1) How do you bind a graphic field to a text field, and 2) is there a way to get Base to search a drive and select the desired path for the text field? I operate on a Mac Mini with OS Monterey 12.4, and want my database to organize photos stored on a portable hard drive (stand-alone only, not using virtual drives)
Binding a graphic field to a VARCHAR-field of a table:
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Open the form for editing, not for input data.
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Form → Image Control
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Right mouseclick → Control Properties → Data → Data field…
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Choose the VARCHAR field of the table.
I would prefer to save the photos in a subdirectory of the database file. So you could move database and subdirectory to another place without loosing the right information about the path. So put the database file on the portable hard drive.
I don’t use Base to scan my drive, but exiftool, wich can output to csv. So I get a table with filenames, size, rating etc, wich is imported then to the actual database. Combining DateTimeOriginal with the model of the Camera gives a pretty unique Id for photos.
A version of my imports you may find here:
https://forum.openoffice.org/en/forum/viewtopic.php?t=104283&hilit=Exif
for usage on windows, but the approach for MacOS is similiar, after you installed the tool. (I have already seen Exiftool on a Mac)
And as we have python as scripting engine in LibreOffice you should avoid questions with “Is there a way…”, as there is mostly a solution possible for a dedicated developer…