How to Troubleshoot Microsoft Access Database Import Errors

Carefully check your source data.

Using existing data as the basis of your Access database eliminates the need to retype data and speeds the creation of the database. Microsoft Access can accept many different kinds of data, from Excel spreadsheets and CSV files, to text files and mainframe documents. Importing data can be very useful, but you also need to carefully check your source information to make sure it will be useful once it is imported.

Instructions

1. Open the source document and carefully check it. Review the document visually and look for any unusual entries. The most common cause of data import problems is a bad entry in the source document.

2. Sort each column in your source document to see the data. Click on each column and scroll down to look at each entry. Click the same column again to sort it in the opposite direction. Review the data and replace any problem data.

3. Check the column headings in your source documents. Change the column headings to one word if possible. Long file names can cause import errors in Microsoft Access.

4. Highlight each column in your source document and click on the "Format" menu. Check the format of the column to make sure the document is in the proper format. For instance, if you try to import a numeric column as text, it can cause import errors.

References

• Microosft Support: Import Data