Supported data sources for importing, for exporting, and for linking in an Access database

You can Microsoft Access to import or link data from Access databases that were created in other versions of Access. You can also use Access to import or link data from other programs, such as Microsoft Excel, and from other file formats, such as dBASE or Paradox. Additionally, you can use Access to import or link (read-only) HTML tables and HTML lists that reside on your local computer, on your network server, or on your Internet server.

Access can export tables to Excel, dBASE, and Paradox. Microsoft Access can also export tables to Rich Text Format (RTF) file format and to dynamic HTML (DHTML) file format.

The following table lists the data formats that an Access database supports. The table also lists some formats that Access does not support and some formats that have limited support.


Notes

• You must use the Microsoft Access 2.0 Converter so that you can use Access 2.0 files in Access 2003. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  830271 BUG: You receive an error message when you open or convert an Access 2.0 database file in Access 2003
• The Lotus 1-2-3 files can be linked. However, the linked Lotus files are read-only.
• Linked dBASE and Paradox tables are read-only. However, you can resolve this issue by installing one of the following items:
  • The lastest Microsoft Jet 4.0 service pack
  • The Borland Database Engine
  For more information about how to use dBase and Paradox data with Access and Jet, see the "References" section.
• To work with an Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) data source, you must have the correct ODBC drivers, and you must have the most current ODBC drivers for the data source that you use. For example, Access does not provide an indexed sequential access method (ISAM) driver for Microsoft FoxPro files (.dbc), but you can use the ODBC drivers that are included with Access to connect to the FoxPro files.
• When you link text files, you cannot update the existing data. You can add records to the linked text file, but when the record is committed, you cannot update existing records.
• When you have to link to, import from, or export data to a dBASE 7.0 database or to a Paradox 8.0 database, Borland Database Engine 4.0 or later may be required.
• In Microsoft Office 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2) or Microsoft Office 2002 update dated 10/18/05 (KB904018), by design, linked Excel spreadsheets cannot be updated. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  904953 You cannot change, add, or delete data in tables that are linked to an Excel workbook in Office Access 2003 or in Access 2002
• You can not use Access 2000 to import, link, or export to an Access 2002 or Access 2003 database.
• Only Access 2003 can export data, import data, and link to lists on Microsoft Windows SharePoint Portal Services sites.

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.

For more information about how to use Paradox data with Access and Jet, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about how to use dBASE data with Access and Jet, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: