Microsoft KB Archive/117536

= ACC: How to Use the Attributes Property for TableDef Objects =

Article ID: 117536

Article Last Modified on 1/19/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Access 2.0 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Access 95 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Access 97 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q117536



SUMMARY
Advanced: Requires expert coding, interoperability, and multiuser skills.

You can use the Attributes property of a TableDef object to determine specific table properties. For example, you can use the Attributes property to find whether a table is a system table or a linked (attached) table.

This article assumes that you are familiar with Visual Basic for Applications and with creating Microsoft Access applications using the programming tools provided with Microsoft Access. For more information about Visual Basic for Applications, please refer to your version of the "Building Applications with Microsoft Access" manual.

NOTE: Visual Basic for Applications is called Access Basic in Microsoft Access version 2.0. For more information about Access Basic, please refer to the "Building Applications" manual.



MORE INFORMATION
The Attributes property of a TableDef object specifies characteristics of the table represented by the TableDef object. The Attributes property is stored as a single Long number and is the sum of the following Long constants:

NOTE: In Microsoft Access 2.0, add an underline (_) after the letters db when you use any of these constants. For example, dbAttachExclusive becomes db_AttachExclusive in version 2.0.    Constant            Description --  dbAttachExclusive   For databases that use the Microsoft Jet database engine, indicates the table is a linked table opened for exclusive use. dbAttachSavePWD    For databases that use the Jet database engine, indicates the user ID and password for the linked table should be saved with the connection information. dbSystemObject     Indicates the table is a system table. dbHiddenObject     Indicates the table is a hidden table (for                       temporary use). dbAttachedTable    Indicates the table is a linked table from a                       non-Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) database, such as Microsoft Access or Paradox. dbAttachedODBC     Indicates the table is a linked table from an                       ODBC database, such as Microsoft SQL Server or                       ORACLE Server. For a TableDef object, use of the Attributes property depends on the status of TableDef, as the following table shows:   TableDef                            Usage -  --   Object not appended to collection   Read/write Base table                         Read-only Linked table                       Read-only When checking the setting of this property, you can use the AND operator to test for a specific attribute. For example, to determine whether a table object is a system table, perform a logical comparison of the TableDef Attributes property and the dbSystemObject constant.

Sample Code
The following user-defined sample function loops through all the tables in a database and displays a message box listing each table name and whether or not the table is a system table: Option Compare Database  'Use database order for string comparisons.

Option Explicit

Function ShowTableAttribs Dim DB As Database Dim T As TableDef Dim TType As String Dim TName As String Dim Attrib As String Dim I As Integer

Set DB = CurrentDB

For I = 0 To DB.Tabledefs.Count - 1 Set T = DB.Tabledefs(I) TName = T.Name Attrib = (T.Attributes And dbSystemObject) MsgBox TName & IIf(Attrib, ": System Table", ": Not System Table") Next I  End Function

