ADO Add Records

We may use the SQL INSERT INTO command to add a record to a table in a database. 

Add a Record to a Table in a Database

We want to add a new record to the Customers table in the Northwind database. We first create a form that contains the fields we want to collect data from:

<html>
<body>

<form method="post" action="demo_add">
<table>
<tr>
<td>CustomerID:</td>
<td><input name="custid"></td>
</tr><tr>
<td>Company Name:</td>
<td><input name="compname"></td>
</tr><tr>
<td>Contact Name:</td>
<td><input name="contname"></td>
</tr><tr>
<td>Address:</td>
<td><input name="address"></td>
</tr><tr>
<td>City:</td>
<td><input name="city"></td>
</tr><tr>
<td>Postal Code:</td>
<td><input name="postcode"></td>
</tr><tr>
<td>Country:</td>
<td><input name="country"></td>
</tr>
</table>
<br><br>
<input type="submit" value="Add New">
<input type="reset" value="Cancel">
</form>

</body>
</html>

When the user presses the submit button the form is sent to a file called "demo_add". The "demo_add" file contains the code that will add a new record to the Customers table:

<html>
<body>

<%
set conn=Server.CreateObject("ADODB.Connection")
conn.Provider="Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0"
conn.Open "c:/webdata/northwind.mdb"

sql="INSERT INTO customers (customerID,companyname,"
sql=sql & "contactname,address,city,postalcode,country)"
sql=sql & " VALUES "
sql=sql & "('" & Request.Form("custid") & "',"
sql=sql & "'" & Request.Form("compname") & "',"
sql=sql & "'" & Request.Form("contname") & "',"
sql=sql & "'" & Request.Form("address") & "',"
sql=sql & "'" & Request.Form("city") & "',"
sql=sql & "'" & Request.Form("postcode") & "',"
sql=sql & "'" & Request.Form("country") & "')"

on error resume next
conn.Execute sql,recaffected
if err<>0 then
  Response.Write("No update permissions!")
else
  Response.Write("<h3>" & recaffected & " record added</h3>")
end if
conn.close
%>

</body>
</html>

Important

If you use the SQL INSERT command be aware of the following:

  • If the table contains a primary key, make sure to append a unique, non-Null value to the primary key field (if not, the provider may not append the record, or an error occurs)
  • If the table contains an AutoNumber field, do not include this field in the SQL INSERT command (the value of this field will be taken care of automatically by the provider)
  • What about Fields With no Data?

    In a MS Access database, you can enter zero-length strings ("") in Text, Hyperlink, and Memo fields IF you set the AllowZeroLength property to Yes.

    Note: Not all databases support zero-length strings and may cause an error when a record with blank fields is added. It is important to check what data types your database supports.