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Storing an image file in SQL Server

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QUESTION POSED ON: 30 August 2005
How do I store an image file in SQL? I'm trying to write a stored procedure that will automatically get a text file from a directory, and insert into a SQL table at a specific time of day. Can this be done?

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Yes, you can store image files in SQL Server. In fact, SQL Server has a datatype called image for exactly this purpose. It will store any binary data up to 2 GB in size.

There are many ways to get image files into your image column. Among the easiest is the Textcopy utility located in the Program FilesMicrosoft SQL ServerMSSQLBinn directory. Use the command "textcopy /?" to get the command line syntax for this utility.

Another way to get image files in and out of SQL Server is to write your own program using ADO or ADO.Net, or create an ActiveX dll that can be called by SQL Server's sp_OA* extended stored procedures.

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