ACC2000: Cannot Import Spreadsheet If Field Name Begins with Space

When you try to import a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet into a Microsoft Access database, you may receive the following error message:

The error occurs if there is a space preceding one or more of the field names in the spreadsheet.

You can resolve the error in the following ways:

• Open the spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel and remove the leading space from the field name.
• Link the spreadsheet in Microsoft Access instead of importing it.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

Steps to Reproduce Problem

1. Start Microsoft Excel and create the following spreadsheet. Type a space in front of the word "Cost":

      Item           <space>Cost       Quantity
      a                   25              2
      b                   23              8
   					

2. Save the file as C:\My Documents\TestSpace.xls, and then quit Microsoft Excel.
3. Start Microsoft Access and open the sample database Northwind.mdb.
4. On the File menu, point to Get External Data, and then click Import.
5. In the Import dialog box, select Microsoft Excel (*.xls) in the Files Of Type box, and then click TestSpace.xls. Click Import.
6. Click Next in the first dialog box of the Import Spreadsheet Wizard.
7. In the Does the first row specified contain column headings? dialog box, click First Row Contains Column Headings, and then click Finish. Note that you receive the error message.
   
   To resolve the error, open TestSpace.xls in Microsoft Excel and remove the space in front of the word "Cost." Then repeat steps 2 through 7 and note that the error does not occur.

For more information about importing data, click Microsoft Access Help on the Help menu, type import data in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic.