Source and Options Arguments

The Source and Options arguments appear in the same topic because they are closely related.

recordset.Open Source, ActiveConnection, CursorType, LockType, Options

The Source argument is a Variant that evaluates to a valid Command object, a text command (e.g., a SQL statement), a table name, a stored procedure call, a URL, or the name of a file or Stream object containing a persistently stored Recordset. If Source is a file path name, it can be a full path ("C:\dir\file.rst"), a relative path ("..\file.rst"), or a URL ("http://files/file.rst"). You can also specify this information in the Recordset object Source property and leave the Source argument blank.

The Options argument is a Long value that indicates either or both of the following:

• How the provider should evaluate the Source argument if it represents something other than a Command object.
• That the Recordset should be restored from a file where it was previously saved.

This argument can contain a bitmask of CommandTypeEnum or ExecuteOptionEnum values. A CommandTypeEnum passed in the Options argument sets the CommandType property of the Recordset.

Note   The ExecuteOpenEnum values of adExecuteNoRecords and adExecuteStream cannot be used with Open.

If the CommandType property value equals adCmdUnknown (the default value), you might experience diminished performance, because ADO must make calls to the provider to determine whether the CommandText property is a SQL statement, a stored procedure, or a table name. If you know what type of command you are using, setting the CommandType property instructs ADO to go directly to the relevant code. If the CommandType property does not match the type of command in the CommandText property, an error occurs when you call the Open method.

For more information about using these enumerated constants for Options and with other ADO methods and properties, see CommandTypeEnum and ExecuteOptionEnum.