Access errors publishing or exporting to SharePoint when attachment file name is invalid

Original KB number:   2711562

Symptoms

You receive one of the following errors when you attempt to export a Microsoft Access table to a SharePoint list:

There was an error copying data to a SharePoint list. The Microsoft Access database engine encountered an error while communicating with SharePoint. More detailed information:

-OR-

There was an error copying data to a SharePoint list. Network I/O error.

You receive the following error when you attempt to publish a Microsoft Access 2010 database to a SharePoint Server:

Publish Failed. Your application has encountered errors while attempting to publish. The publish operation has failed and the target site has not been created.

When you click to view the details for the message, the first error entry is:

"There was an error uploading the data in the tables being created on the server. The Microsoft Access database engine encountered an error while communicating with SharePoint. More detailed information: "

Cause

A table in the database has an Attachment field that contains a file or files which have names that are invalid in SharePoint. For instance:

• The file name has two periods (..) in front of the file extension, such as, "James Wittrell, Ph.D..jpg"
• The file name contains any of the following characters: \ / : * ? " < > | # { } % ~ &

Resolution

1. Open the table in datasheet view in Microsoft Access.
2. Double-click on the Attachment field to open the Attachments window.
3. Select the file that contains the invalid character or characters.
4. Click Save As... and save to your desktop.
5. Click Remove to remove the file from the Attachments list.
6. Click Ok and Save the table.
7. Rename the file you just exported to your desktop so that it no longer contains invalid characters.
8. Add the file back to the record as an Attachment.

More Information

If you attempt to import a file that contains invalid characters directly to a SharePoint list you receive one of the following errors:

The file name is invalid or the file is empty. A file name cannot contain any of the following characters:
\ / : * ? " < > | # { } % ~ &

-OR-

The file name contains one or more invalid characters. Make sure the name of the file does not include the following characters:
\ / : * ? " < > | # { } % ~ &