Error message when you try to add tables to the Relationships window in Access: "There is not enough memory to perform this operation. Close unneeded applications and then try the operation again"

In Microsoft Office Access or in Microsoft Access, you may receive the following error message when you try to add tables to the Relationships window:

This behavior occurs because the tables that you are adding to the Relationships window contain more than approximately 1,200 columns.

Note The exact number of columns that can appear in the Relationships window varies depending on factors such as the length of field names and the length of table names.

To work around this behavior, follow these steps in the Relationships window:

1. Delete some tables that already have defined relationships.
2. Add new tables, and then create additional relationships between the tables.

Note When you delete a table from the Relationships window, the table and its relationships are not deleted from the database. This action only removes the table from the Relationships window.

For more information about the Relationships window, search Microsoft Office Access Help for the following phrase: