Denys,
 
the results you received in #3 below are exactly the kind of thing that has been
happening here (I believe that I scientifically described it as Access going
bananas).  Another thing to note: the number of records retrieved will likely be
wrong.  When opening a dataset with 1500 entries, Access would report anywhere
from 400 to 1600 entries, dependent, apparently, on whim.
 
Please let me know how the visual basic stuff goes; that is my next step if ODBC
cannot be forced to cooperate.  Good luck!
 
-Bob
 
______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: MSAccess, ODBC and Unique keys.
Author:  Denys Beauchemin <[log in to unmask]> at Internet
Date:    11/13/95 6:20 PM
 
 
Gentle listers,
 
In the course of extensive testing today,  as I move to complete the
client/server section in my book, I found the following, pursuant to the
discussion about ODBC, MS ACCESS and keys.
 
1-  On a master, I can issue an SQL command in Access and create, on the PC,
a unique index on the column mapped to the IMAGE search key.  I can use all
the facilities of Access to view, modify, add to and delete rows in the
IMAGE/SQL table.  This includes the datasheet view of the table.  In VB, it
responds properly.
 
2-  On a detail dataset, I can issue an SQL command in Access and create,
again on the PC, a unique index on the column mapped to an IMAGE search key,
 which would represent unique data.  In this case, I used the invoice number
of the invoice dataset.  It is linked to an automatic master but the invoice
numbers are unique.  I can use all the facilities of Access to view, modify,
add to and delete rows in the IMAGE/SQL table.  This includes the datasheet
view of the table.  In VB, it responds properly also.
 
3-  On a detail dataset, I can issue an SQL command in Access and create,
still on the PC, a unique index on the column mapped to an IMAGE search key,
which does NOT represent unique data.  In the same case as 2 above, I used
the customer number of the invoice dataset.  It is linked to a manual master
and the customer numbers in this dataset are definitely NOT UNIQUE.  In the
datasheet view of the table, Access displays for each customer, the first
encountered Invoice row, and repeats it as many times as there are invoice
records for the customer.  It does this for each and every customer.  In my
test, it will display 144 rows of invoices for 9 customers, but it will be
only 9 different invoices, each customer gets his first invoice and this is
in turn replicated by Access.  This is not (to paraphrase a friend of mine,)
a good thing.  Using a form which I created to access a record in Access, if
I cycle through the table one row at a time, I see every row, if I skip to
the end of the table or over several rows, the problem of the single
replicated invoice by customer reappears.  In Visual BASIC, the records seem
to come up properly. So go figure.
 
 
Testing continues. I am trying updates in VB next.
 
Kind regards,
 
Denys. . .