DBRichText field: Not available in Access97?!?

[CincyScott]

I'm formerly a VB developer (VB1,2,3 Pro), now using Delphi (1,2,3,5 Pro). I am now tasked with writing a Delphi front end to an Access database (for speed, portability, tools availability purposes). I got to the last field (of about thirty) on my form, which was a &quot;Comments&quot; (datatype Memo) field. I wanted to use a TdbRichTextEdit control, which is basically a word processor in a control, for this field. I went into Access97 to change the datatype to RichEdit and found that there is no such datatype in the list. I've been using DBRichEdit fields and controls since Delphi 2/Paradox 5 (where its called a Formatted Memo datatype). Can it really be true that MS does not support this datatype in Access? Didn't they, in fact, invent RTF? Is there an extended list of datatypes that I didn't know enough to find (there are 17 listed the Paradox's pick list, less than half that in Access97's??). Please don't misunderstand: I'm agnostic about the DB choice--whatever the client wants, that's fine. I am, however, somewhat dismayed at losing functionality that I had come to take for granted and had pretty much presumed was universal. I mean, even Oracle supports RichText, for chrissake. Can someone please point me to a solution to this problem (other than switch back to Paradox--the client wants Access)?<br>
TIA,<br>
Scott

 

[elizabeth]

Haven't used this activeX control myself but sounds like what you want...?<br>
<A HREF="

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q165/4/37.ASP"

TARGET="_new">

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q165/4/37.ASP</A>

 

[rebel]

There's an add-on program (Total Access Memo by FMS, Inc.,

http://www.fmsinc.com)

you can buy for about $350-$400 that adds rich text formatting to Access forms and programs. It gives you superscripts, underlining, bullets, special characters, etc. I've used it to get around some of the very frustrating limitations of Access, particularly for handling foreign languages, including nonWestern scripts, and scientific characters. Even so, it's minimally adequate for special editing needs; you'll often have to improvise work-arounds. Hope this helps.

 

[CincyScott]

Thank you, Elizabeth and Rebel, for your replies. I inadvertently found a solution that requires no activeX controls or add-ons. It seems that, even though Access is unable to decipher the rich text formatting of the stored memo, the Delphi VCL (Visual Control Library) DBRichEdit control has the intelligence to store the formatting commands in the standard text memo field offered by Access. Since Access seems not to be hip to rich text formatting, when you look at the field in form view in Access, this is what you see:<br>
<br>
{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0\deftab720{\fonttbl{\f0\fswiss MS Sans Serif;}{\f1\froman\fcharset2 Symbol;}{\f2\fswiss\fcharset1 MS Sans Serif;}{\f3\fscript Monotype Corsiva;}{\f4\fnil Lynda Cursive;}}<br>
{\colortbl\red0\green0\blue0;\red0\green0\blue128;\red255\green0\blue0;}<br>
\deflang1033\pard\plain\f3\fs24\cf1 Now is the \plain\f4\fs24\cf2\b time \plain\f3\fs24\cf1 for all good men<br>
\par }<br>
<br>
When this field is accessed by a Delphi DBRichEdit Memo control, however, it displays in MS Sans Serif and Monotype Corsiva in full color. And Delphi's included report engine, QuickReports, has a QRDBRichEdit control to output the field (in hardcopy, email, HTML, etc.) in its formatted state. So, basically, right out of the box Delphi has the tools necessary to overcome this (frankly, incomprehensible) inability of Access to understand one of Microsoft's most fundamental datatypes.<br>
<br>
While researching this issue, and checking out your reference, Rebel, I noticed how exorbitantly priced third-party tools are for Access (and VB, for that matter). We in the Delphi community have come to take for granted the availability of free and/or low cost components and component suites. If I were to attempt to reconstruct my current Delphi