ACC2000: Cannot Perform OpenTable Method on Linked/Attached Table

If you try to open a recordset on a linked table by using the dbOpenTable constant, you may receive the following error message:

In Microsoft Access, a linked table must be opened as the Recordset object. The following code example assumes that you are linked to the Customers table in the sample database Northwind.mdb, which resides in the same folder as the database containing this code. The code opens the Northwind.mdb file, which actually contains the Customers table. The code then creates a recordset based on the Customers table.

NOTE: The sample code in this article uses Microsoft Data Access Objects. For this code to run properly, you must reference the Microsoft DAO 3.6 Object Library. To do so, click References on the Tools menu in the Visual Basic Editor, and make sure that the Microsoft DAO 3.6 Object Library check box is selected.

Public Function testLink()
   Dim myDb As DAO.DATABASE, rstCustomers As DAO.Recordset
   ' Open the Northwind.mdb database.
   Set myDb = DBEngine.Workspaces(0).OpenDatabase("Northwind.mdb")
   ' Create the recordset.
   Set rstCustomers = myDb.OpenRecordset("Customers", dbOpenDynaset)
End Function
				

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

1.	Create a new, blank database in the same folder as the sample database Northwind.mdb.
2.	On the File menu, point to Get External Data, and then click Link Tables.
3.	In the Link dialog box, click Northwind.mdb, and then click Link.
4.	In the Link Tables dialog box, click the Customers table, and then click OK.
5.	Create a module and type the following line in the Declarations section if it is not already there: Option Explicit
6.	Type the following procedure: Function Test() Dim db as DAO.Database Dim mySet as DAO.Recordset Set db = CurrentDB() ' Create the recordset based on the Customers table. Set mySet = db.OpenRecordset("Customers", dbOpenTable) End function
7.	To test this function, type the following line in the Immediate window, and then press ENTER: ? Test() Note that you receive the error message mentioned in the "Symptoms" section.

For more information about the OpenRecordset method, in the Visual Basic Editor, click Microsoft Visual Basic Help on the Help menu, type OpenRecordset in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic.

For additional information about how to use the Seek method with linked tables, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: