Microsoft KB Archive/263561

= INFO: Non-BDE Paradox and dBase ISAM Drivers =

Article ID: 263561

Article Last Modified on 1/27/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Open Database Connectivity Driver for Access 4.0
 * Microsoft Access 2000 Service Pack 1
 * Microsoft Data Access Components 2.1
 * Microsoft Data Access Components 2.5
 * Microsoft Access 2000 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Office 2000 Premium Edition
 * Microsoft Office 2000 Professional Edition
 * Microsoft Office 2000 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Office 2000 Small Business Edition
 * Microsoft Office 2000 Developer Edition
 * Microsoft Excel 2000 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft FrontPage 2000 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Outlook 2000 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft PowerPoint 2000 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Word 2000 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q263561



SUMMARY
Microsoft has created new Paradox and dBASE ISAM drivers for Microsoft Jet 4.0 that do not require the installation of the Borland Database Engine (BDE) to provide full read/write access to Paradox and dBASE files. The current Jet 4.0-based Paradox and dBase ISAM drivers that ship with Microsoft Data Access Component (MDAC) 2.1 and later, allow read-only access to Paradox and dBASE files unless the BDE is installed. The Jet 3.51 version of these ISAM drivers provides this functionality without the use of the BDE.



MORE INFORMATION
Both Paradox and dBase files are accessed through Microsoft Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) datasources. The Microsoft ODBC Driver uses the Jet database engine to load the appropriate ISAM driver, and then read the requested file. SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE and DELETE statements are all performed through these ISAM drivers.

In Jet database engine version 4.0 (installed with MDAC 2.1 and later, and with Microsoft Office 2000), the Paradox and dBase ISAM drivers require that the BDE is installed on the computer to allow deletions, updates and inserts, maintain indexes, and permit multi-user access to Paradox and dBase files. The ISAM drivers use the BDE to provide functionality beyond selecting, importing and exporting. Please refer to the Knowledge Base articles mentioned in the &quot;References&quot; section for more information.

The new Jet 4.0 Paradox and dBase ISAM drivers restore the design that was used in the Jet 3.51 drivers and are not dependent on the BDE. These new ISAM drivers are included with Jet 4.0 Service Pack 5. To download these new drivers, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

239114 How To: Obtain the Latest Service Pack for the Microsoft Jet 4.0 Database Engine

Service Pack 5 also resolves some existing problems that are listed in this article.

To obtain these ISAM drivers separately, you must contact Microsoft Technical Support, and request that they be sent to you by a Support Professional. The new ISAM drivers load and use the BDE if it exists on the computer, but functionality comparable to the Jet 3.51 ISAM is available if the BDE is not loaded. When the drivers are initially loaded by a process, they verify values in the following registry key to determine if the BDE exists on the computer:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Borland\Database Engine

If the values in this registry key indicate that the BDE is present on the computer, then the values are used to locate and load the BDE. If this key does not exist, then the ISAM drivers create the key and add a few rudimentary values.

The new ISAM drivers have the following file attributes:  Name           Date       Version      Size             File name -

Paradox ISAM   04/21/00   4.00.4021.0  344,336 bytes    Mspbde40.dll dBase ISAM     04/21/00   4.00.4021.1  344,336 bytes    Msxbde40.dll

Please note that these ISAM drivers are used with Jet 4.0 only. Do not use these drivers to resolve any issue with the Jet 3.51 ISAM drivers.

