How to store a file in a database?

[dejanv]

I have SQL Server 2000 and I have to make a table for storing Word, Excel or maybe some other Microsoft Office files. What data type should I use for this? Can I search through the stored files by words in a stored documents using a query and how?

 

[JamesLean]

To store files you can use the image data type, which holds binary data. Because you're storing the actual binary file, you can't then search through the text of the document.

Another option is to store the files in a certain folder on the hard drive and use a varchar field in the DB to just store the path/filename.

--James