Opening an Existing File

After you've created an Access database, whether from scratch, from an existing database, or from a template, you'll probably need to open it occasionally to modify the data or perform maintenance tasks . To open an existing database, do the following:

1. Click the Open button on the Database toolbar to open the Open dialog box.

2. Locate the appropriate folder in the Look In list, and then double-click the .mdb file in the list. We selected MyDatabase in the My Documents folder.

3. Select Open to see its drop-down list, as shown in Figure 2.9. As you can see, opening a database isn't as simple as it first appears. Select one of the options, which we've explained in Table 2.1, and then click Open.

   Figure 2.9. Four different modes exist in which you can open a database.

   

Table 2.1. Open Options

Option	Explanation
Open (the default)	Opens the database and allows others to also open the database in a multiuser environment.
Open Read-Only	You can view everything, but you can't edit anything.
Open Exclusive	Opens the database exclusively in a multiuser environment. In other words, no one else can open the database while you have it open in this mode.
Open Exclusive Read-Only	Combines the two previous options, opening the database exclusively but not letting you edit anything.

Access automatically updates the recently used files list on the File menu as you open files. If the file appears in that list, simply click the link to quickly open that database and thereby skip the Open dialog box.