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

In a Microsoft Office Access database project (.adp), if you use Microsoft SQL Server as the database engine, you can link data from other programs and from other file formats, such as Microsoft Excel, dBase, Paradox, or XML. You can also import or link Access databases (.mdb), HTML tables, and lists that reside on the local computer, the network server, or the Internet server. However, you cannot modify the structure of the linked tables from Access.

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The following table lists the formats that are supported by Access. The following table also lists formats that are not supported and formats that have limited support.

Note The numbers in parentheses indicate the restrictions that apply. For more information, see the list of restrictions after the table. You must be aware of the following restrictions:

1. You must install 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
2. The Access database must already exist. Only tables can be exported to an Access 97 and earlier file.
3. The Link Table Wizard uses the first row of data as the column headings. For text files and for HTML files, examine the first row and then insert the appropriate column headings if the column headings are required.
   
   If you link to large text files (.txt or .html), an Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) Timeout error may occur. To permit Access to successfully transfer text data or to successfully link text data to Microsoft SQL Server, you must increase the QueryTimeout value in the registry, or you must disable the ODBC Timeout by setting the value to 0 (zero).
   
   The following registry key controls the QueryTimeout value:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Jet\4.0\Engines\ODBC\QueryTimeout
4. The functionality, marked by (4) in the previous table, requires Borland Database Engine (BDE) for Paradox 7-8 format files.
   
   For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
   230126� How to use Paradox data with Access and Jet
5. An .asp page can be used as a linked table if the .asp page contains valid <table> elements.
6. When you try to link to Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 or to Microsoft SQL Server 2000 by using a system data source name (DSN), you may receive the following error message:
   Invalid schema or catalog specified for provider 'MSDASQL'
   You can prevent this error when you try to connect to SQL Server. To prevent this error, click Microsoft SQL Server in the Data Connection Wizard. Do not click ODBC DSN in the Data Connection Wizard.
7. In the Microsoft Office 2002 update that is dated October 18, 2005 (KB904018), and in Microsoft Office 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2), you cannot update a linked Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. This behavior is by design. 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
8. Only Access 2003 supports importing or exporting Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services lists and Microsoft Word Merge. This support was not available in earlier versions of Access.

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 export database objects, click Microsoft Office Access Help on the Help menu, type Export data or database objects in the Search for box in the Assistance pane, and then click Start searching to view the topic.

For more information about linking, click Microsoft Office Access Help on the Help menu, type Link tables in an Access project by using the Link Table Wizard (ADP) in the Search for box in the Assistance pane, and then click Start searching to view the topic.

For more information about how to import from a Windows SharePoint Services list in Access 2003, click Microsoft Office Access Help on the Help menu, type Import from a Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services list in the Search for box in the Assistance pane, and then click Start searching to view the topic. For more information about the supported data sources for importing, for exporting, and for linking in an Access database, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: