ACC2000: TransferSpreadsheet May Not Allow the Table Append Operation

When you append data from a spreadsheet to an existing table by using a TransferSpreadsheet macro action or a TransferSpreadsheet method in Visual Basic for Applications, you may receive one of the following error messages:

The first row of the spreadsheet file does not contain field names; therefore, Microsoft Access assumes the fields are named "F1," "F2," and so on.

You can use one of the following two methods to work around this behavior. You can import the spreadsheet into a new table, and then append that data in Microsoft Access; or you can change the spreadsheet to include field names in the first row.

Method 1

1. Import the spreadsheet into a new table named tblTemp.
2. Create an append query to append the data in the tblTemp table to your existing table.
3. Run the append query.
4. Delete the tblTemp table.

Method 2

1. In Microsoft Excel, insert a new first row in the spreadsheet. In this row, add field names that match the field names in the existing Microsoft Access table.
2. In the macro, change the Has Field Names argument to Yes, for example:
   Transfer Type: Import
   Spreadsheet Type: My_type
   Table Name: MyDatabaseTable
   File Name: pathname\filename
   Has Field Names: Yes
3. If you are using code, the HasFieldNames argument should be set to True, for example:

   DoCmd.TransferSpreadsheet acImport, _
      <type of file to import>, "<MyDatabaseTable>", _
      <name of file including path>", True
   					

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

CAUTION: If you follow the steps in this example, you modify the sample database Northwind.mdb. You may want to back up the Northwind.mdb file and follow these steps on a copy of the database.

1. Start Microsoft Excel and create a spreadsheet with the following data:
   A1: 9
   A2: Express
   A3: 800-123-4567
   B1: 10
   B2: US Mail
   B3: 800-569-4568
2. Save the spreadsheet as C:\test1.xls.
3. Start Microsoft Access, and then open the sample database Northwind.mdb or the sample project NorthwindCS.adp.
4. Create a macro with the TransferSpreadsheet action and the following action arguments:
   Transfer Type: Import
   Spreadsheet Type: Microsoft Excel 8-9
   Table Name: Shippers
   File Name: C:\test1.xls
   Has Field Names: No
5. Save the macro as TestImport, and then run the macro. Note that you receive the error mentioned in the "Symptoms" section.

For additional information about unexpected behavior with the TransferSpreadsheet action, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
For additional information about unexpected behavior when importing data from Excel, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: