You cannot link tables into a Microsoft Access project by using an ODBC Data Source Name (DSN)

In a Microsoft Access project (ADP), when you try to link to a particular data source when you are using an Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) File Data Source Name (File DSN) connection, you receive the following error message:

To work around this behavior, use a Microsoft Office database connection as follows:

1. Open NorthwindCS.adp (or any other .adp file).
2. On the File menu, point to Get External Data, and then click Link Tables to start the Link Table wizard.
3. Click Linked Server, and then click Next.
4. Click +Connect to New Data Source.odc, and then click Open to start the Data Connection Wizard.
5. In the Data Connection Wizard, click Other/Advanced, and then click Next to open the Data Link Properties dialog box.
6. On the Provider tab, click Microsoft JET 4.0 OLE DB Provider, and then click Next.
7. On the Connection tab under Select or enter a database name, browse to and select the Northwind (.mdb) sample database file.
8. Click OK to close the Data Link Properties dialog box.
9. In the Select Database and Table dialog box, click Next.
10. Note the name of the Office Database Connection (.odc) file that is created, and then click Finish to start the Link Table Wizard.
11. In the Link Table Wizard, select the Customers table from the Available Tables list, and add it to the Link To Project list. Click Next, and then click Finish. This creates a linked view in your Access project.

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

Steps to Reproduce the Behavior

Create an ODBC DSN connection to a Microsoft Access database, as follows:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. In Control Panel, open the ODBC Data Sources (32-bit) tool, and then add a new File DSN for your Access database by selecting the appropriate Microsoft Access driver.

Link to the Microsoft Access database using File DSN, as follows:

1. Open the Access project in which you want to create the link.
2. On the File menu, point to Get External Data, and then click Link Tables.
3. Click Linked Server on the first page of the Link Table Wizard, and then click Next.
4. In the Select Data Source dialog box, click ODBC File DSNs in the Files of type list, select the Microsoft Access data source that you created earlier, and then click Open.
   
   Note that you receive the message that is mentioned in the "Symptoms" section of this article.