ACC2000: Access Option to Import into an Existing Table Is Not Available for Excel Spreadsheet

When you try to import a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that has undefined field names for the records that you are importing, the Import into an Existing Table option is not available in Access.

This issue occurs because Access cannot identify the fields to append to the table fields.

To resolve this issue, import the spreadsheet as a new table, and then append the records to the existing table.

Import the spreadsheet as a new table

1. Open a database, or switch to the Database window for the database that is currently open.
2. On the File menu, point to Get External Data, and then click Import.
3. In the Files of type box, click Microsoft Excel.
4. Browse to the drive and folder where the Excel spreadsheet file is stored, click the file, and then click Import.
5. To import the data, follow the on-screen instructions in the Import Spreadsheet Wizard.

Append the records to the existing table

1. In the database window, click Queries, and then click New.
2. In the New Query dialog box, click Design View, and then click OK.
3. In the Show Table dialog box, click the Tables tab, and then click your new table.
4. Click Add, and then click Close.
5. In the table that appears, double-click each of the fields that you want to append to the existing table.
6. On the Query menu, click Append Query.
7. In the Table Name box, select the name of the existing table where you want to append records.
8. If the selected table is in the database that is currently open, click Current Database. Otherwise, click Another Database, and then type the path and name of the database.
9. Click OK.
10. Select the appropriate fields in the Append To area of the query grid, and then click Run on the toolbar.
11. Click Yes in the message about the number of append rows.
12. Save and close the query, and then view the table where the records are appended.