Image Record Maintenance

Microsoft Access does not provide resources for importing pictures into either .MDB or SQL Server tables. The Image Record Maintenance application is designed to 'fill in' this functionality for SQL Server instances using a C#/Winforms program. The main benefit of having images in the database directly is that applications that don't or can't share a common network drive can still access pictures. The circumstances where this is useful are varied, they might include on-line catalogs, mail merge postcards with addresses on one side and photographs/artwork on the other, or evidence/specimen imaging from a disparate collection of sources, such as a field investigation occurring simultaneously in several states or countries.

Both Crystal Reports and SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) are able to incorporate SQL-Server photographs into their report templates.

Normally this system will be customized for a client's specific purposes, and this will include in particular custom search and caption fields for querying or grouping image collections. Field customization might include photography date, GPS Coordinates, Job Code, Product Code, Case Number, Article Inventory, Address, etc.

Such an application would work well using SQL Server Azure. In this situation photograph uploads would occur in minutes (true even for 1Mb .JPGs or .PNGs). These would be visibile to other field offices or a command center the moment they become resident in the database.