Richard,

I have been experimenting with the new "Attachment" data type in Access 2010 (don't know if it was already in 2007).  It seems when I add attachments to a record using this data type, they get copied into the database rather than linked.  This is great in that I don't have to worry about broken links if users move the files.  However I'm worried about the database ballooning in size, and what affect this might have.  Have you used the attachment data type?  What are your feelings for or against?  In the past I linked documents, but I had hell to pay when the users reorganized their data locations and I had to re-establish all the links.

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Reply from Richard Rost:

Greg, I talk about the Attachment data type at length in the Access Imaging seminar. Yes, your database will get BLOATED if you add lots of attachments to it. If you're going to do this, I recommend you make a separate database file JUST for your attachments and then link into it as an external table. If you want to LINK to individual objects, you can use an OLE data type, but again there is still some major overhead. I usually recommend the same kind of procedure that I cover in the Imaging seminar for pictures... which is to save the PATH and FILENAME for the object in your table, and then launch it externally. So, for example, you'd save "C:\Documents\MyDoc.DOC" in your table, and then create a link to it on your form. If the user wants to see the document, clicking on the link will launch Microsoft Word. Yes, you'll have to keep track of where that location is. I recommend setting up a folder on your server and then storing that path in your database somewhere (like a master settings table) so you can refer to "\\SERVER\Data\Attachments\" and then it's the same for ALL of your users.