ACC: How to Import a Works Database into Microsoft Access

This article describes how to import a Works Database file into an Access 95 (version 7.0) or Access 97 database.

Save the Works Database File

Save the Works Database file in a format compatible with Microsoft Access by doing the following:

1. Open the database in Works.
2. Make sure the field widths in Form view are large enough to display all the information in the field.
3. Check the format of each field containing text, to ensure it is General or Text formatting. If the format of a text field is set to a numeric format, such as Currency or Date, that field will be blank when opened in Access.
4. When you save in dBASE format, field names will be truncated at 10 characters, so ensure the first 10 characters of each field name are unique. For example, two fields named "Address 1" and "Address 2" would be OK, but "Address Line 1" and "Address Line 2" would not be.
   
   NOTE: If the first 10 characters in two or more fields are the same, the additional field name(s) will be imported into Access with a default field name, such as, Field_1, Field_2.
5. On the File menu, click Save As.
6. Select a folder to save the database to; to make it easy to locate, select the Access folder.
7. Enter a new name, without an extension, in the File Name field.
8. From the Save File As Type list, select dBASE III or dBASE IV and click OK.
   
   NOTE: If the error message, Some Field Text Was Truncated, is displayed, return to step 2 and increase the field width.
9. Quit Works.

NOTE: If Works does not add the .dbf extension, resave the file with this extension.

Import the Works Database into Access

To import the database created above into Access, follow these steps:

1. Start Access.
2. In the Create A New Database Using dialog box, select Blank Database and click OK.
3. Name the database and click Create.
4. On the Tables tab, click New.
5. In the New Table dialog box, select Import Table, from the list and then click OK.
6. Change the Look In box to the folder that contains the Works database, and change the Files of Type box to either dBASE III or dBASE IV, depending on the format you chose in the steps above.
7. Click the database you want to use and then click Import.

You should receive a message that the file has been successfully imported. Click OK. Then close the Import dialog box.

The Works file has been imported into Access. If you want to view the imported data, click the new table in the Tables list and click Open. If you want to discard the Works file used to transfer your data into Microsoft Access, delete the file.

Note: Microsoft Access Dbase drivers expect the file name of the dbase file to be in the MS-Dos 8.3 file format. For more information please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

95327 ACC: Error When Importing dBASE, FoxPro, or Paradox Table

For information about importing Works Spreadsheets into Access, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

93698 ACC: Importing Spreadsheets from Microsoft Works for Windows