INFO: Non-BDE Paradox and dBase ISAM Drivers (263561)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft ODBC Driver for Access 4.0
  • Microsoft Access 2000 Service Release 1 (SR-1)
  • Microsoft Data Access Components 2.1
  • Microsoft Data Access Components 2.5
  • Microsoft Access 2002
  • Microsoft Office 2000 Premium
  • Microsoft Office 2000 Professoinal
  • Microsoft Office 2000 Standard
  • Microsoft Office 2000 Small Business
  • Microsoft Office 2000 Developer
  • Microsoft Excel 2000
  • Microsoft FrontPage 2000
  • Microsoft Outlook 2000
  • Microsoft PowerPoint 2000
  • Microsoft Word 2000
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 "References" 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.

REFERENCES

For additional information more information on the Paradox and dBase ISAM drivers dependency on the BDE, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

230126 ACC2000: Using Paradox Data with Access 2000 and Jet

230125 ACC2000: Using dBASE Data with Access 2000 and Jet

238431 dBase Driver Cannot Update DBF in MDAC 2.1 and Later Versions

248841 ACC2000: How to Control Whether Access Loads the BDE

244040 HOWTO: Have Your ODBC Jet 3.5 and 4.0 Applications Co-exist

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:10/13/2006
Keywords:kbHotfixServer kbQFE kbinfo kbJET KB263561
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