XL: Certain ODBC Drivers Do Not Support Long File Names (148149)

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to access a file saved in one of the following formats with either Microsoft Query or Data Access Objects (DAO), you receive an error message if the file name contains more than eight characters (not including the characters that comprise the file name extension):

dBASE
FoxPro
Paradox
Text

In Microsoft Query, you may receive the following error message:

Invalid string or buffer length

When you use DAO in a Visual Basic for Applications macro, you may receive one of the following error messages:

Microsoft Excel 97

Run-time error '3011': The Microsoft Jet database engine could not find the object 'my file'. Make sure the object exists and that you spell its name and the path name correctly.

Microsoft Excel 7.0

Run-time error '3011':
Couldn't find object '<my file>'

where the file being accessed is named "My File.dbf." The object name in the error message you receive may be different from the ones described above.

CAUSE

Versions of the dBASE software that are designed for MS-DOS-based systems and released prior to the release of the Windows 95 do not support long file names. The driver used by DAO and Microsoft Query is designed to be compatible with these versions of dBASE, and, therefore, doesn't support long file names.

MORE INFORMATION

The Microsoft ODBC drivers for dBASE-formatted files that are for use on the Macintosh platform do support long file names. However, it is still necessary for these names to remain compatible with MS-DOS based versions of dBASE software products. For this purpose, the driver mentioned in this article supports only file names that conform to the 8.3 MS-DOS file naming convention.

WORKAROUND

If you need to access dBase or Microsoft FoxPro files with long filenames through Microsoft Query of DAO, you can install the Microsoft Visual FoxPro ODBC driver.

The following files are available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:

Vfpodbc5.exe

For additional information about how to download Microsoft Support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

119591 How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services

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