VB6 ADODB.Recordset RecordCount property always returns -1

Question

I am trying to get some old VB6 code to work with SQL Server Compact.

I can connect, open the database and all seems well. I can run insert select commands which

Answer 1

With Compact the default cursor attribute is adOpenForwardOnly for improved performance. As such RecordCount is returned as "-1" which means its not available, rather than blank. This is by design because the # of records in a dynamic cursor could change and result in pinging back and forth between the client server to maintain accuracy. However, if the record count is vital try setting it to use adOpenKeyset or adOpenStatic with a server-side cursor.