Selecting File Types for Importing and Linking

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Access lets you import and link files from a number of applications, which makes it easy to work with data you’ve already gathered rather than reenter it from scratch. For example, suppose your organization used dBASE to create a donor database back in 1991. Because Access allows you to import data from most major database applications, you can use that data in an Access database that you’re currently building. You don’t have to reenter the information, and you can create important analyses and reports without a lot of delay or hassle.

You select the type of the file you want to import or link by using the Files Of Type drop-down list in the Import dialog box (choose File, Get External Data, Import) or the Link dialog box (choose File, Get External Data, Link Tables). Table 16-1 lists the different file types and their extensions.

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The import options will differ depending on whether you’re using the Access interface or VBA code to handle the import or link. To find out more about using VBA code to import or link various file types, see Table 16-2.

Table 16-1. Supported file types for importing and linking

Data type	Extension(s)
Access databases	MDB, MDA, MDE
Access projects	ADP, ADE
dBASE	DBF
Excel workbooks or worksheets	XLS
Exchange	[Select Exchange folder]
HTML documents	HTM
Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheets	WK*
Lotus 1-2-3/MS-DOS spreadsheets	WJ*
Outlook	[Select Outlook folder]
Paradox	DB
Text file	TXT, CSV, TAB, ASC
XML documents	XML, XSD
ODBC databases	[Select ODBC data source]

Troubleshooting - The data I need to import doesn’t have a selection in the Files Of Type drop-down list in the Import dialog box

If you need to import data from an unsupported file type (such as a Microsoft Works database), you must save the data from that program in one of the formats Access can import. (The dBASE (DBF), Excel (XLS), or delimited text (.CSV) formats are good choices for this purpose.) For example, to import data from Works, first export the data to a CSV file, and then import the data from the CSV file into Access.