Fixing Photos Not Saving in Standard

With almost all school IDs including a photo, it’s incredibly important to make sure your photos are saving correctly. However, getting that information to save can sometimes be slightly problematic. This troubleshooting guide will cover two of the most common reasons why photos do not save correctly.

How to Fix Photos Not Saving

There are two main reasons that a photo will not save: first, if you are storing the photo directly in an Access database or the software that is set up incorrectly or second, if you are storing photos outside a database and the field is not linked correctly.

If Directly Storing Photos in the Database

For AlphaCard School ID to store the photo data directly into an Access database, the photo field must be set to OLE Object. No other field type has the capacity to store the amount of data required for a photo.

Once the database is set up correctly, the next step is to make sure that AlphaCard School ID is trying to save the information to the correct location.

1. To check this, go to the Configuration tab.
2. Click on Database Setup.
3. Click Next until you are on the last screen, for storage objects.
4. On this screen, the storage object for a photo should be set as following: the table name should be the table of the database you are pulling information from. Next, the primary key should be set to the primary key of the database. The Column Name is the OLE Object field that you are trying to store the binary data directly into. Lastly, the Storage Item Usage should be set to Store the cardholder’s photo under the Photos/Signatures Tab.
5. If all of these are correct, there could be an issue in the template where the photo object on the card is no longer linked to the correct database table. To check this, go to the Configuration tab in the software
6. Then click on Template Designer.
7. Once the template designer window has opened, click on your photo object.
8. In the Properties Window, go to the Content tab.
9. Looking at the Database Column, make sure that it is set to your Photo OLE field in your database. If it is blank, or set to the incorrect field, AlphaCard School ID is saving the photos, but they aren’t being pulled onto the design correctly. Just drop down the column name and select the correct option.
10. Once this is setup, the photos should synchronize correctly from the database to the design.

If Storing Photo Outside the Database

If you are not saving the photos directly into your database, then the lack of images can be either the column you are using to store them is incorrect or the file location of where you are storing the photos is incorrect.

1. To begin troubleshooting, go to your Configuration tab.
2. Then click On Template Designer.
3. Once the designer has opened, click on your photo object.
4. In the properties window off to the right hand side of the software, select the Content tab.
5. On the Content tab, make sure that the column that you are linked to is a unique field.
6. If the field in the database is empty, or non-unique, the photo will either not save or multiple database entries will link to the same photo.
7. Next, under the Point to File options, make sure that the Image Folder is set to a valid destination. If this is incorrect, you will most likely be receiving errors that Windows cannot find the location to save the file.
8. Once these are set correctly, the photo should appear on the card.

If you continue to experience problems, or have questions about your AlphaCard School ID software, please contact AlphaCard technical support.