Microsoft Access 2010 Bible

Chapter 16: Working with External Data

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Access can simultaneously link to multiple tables contained within other database systems. After

an external file is linked, Access stores the link specification and uses the external data as if it were

contained in a local table. Access easily links to other Access database tables as well as to non-

Access database tables such as dBASE and FoxPro. A recommended practice is to split an Access

database into two separate databases, for easier use in a multiuser or client-server environment.

Linking to external database tables

In the “Ways of working with external data” section, earlier in this chapter, you saw a list of data-

base tables and other types of files that Access links to. Access displays the names of linked tables

in the object list and uses a special icon to indicate that the table is linked and not local. An arrow

pointing to an icon indicates that the table name represents a link data source. Figure 16.1 shows

several linked tables in the list. (The icon indicates that the file is linked. The icon also indicates

which type of file is linked to the current Access database. For example, Excel has an X symbol in a

box and dBASE tables have a dB symbol.)

FIGURE 16.1

Linked tables in an Access database. Notice that each linked table has an icon indicating its status as a
linked table.

dBase

Excel

HTML

Access
Excel
Access

Excel

After you link an external database table to your Access database, you use it as you would any

other table. For example, Figure 16.2 shows a query using several linked tables: tblCustomers

(a local Access table), tblSales (a linked Access table), tblSaleLineItems (from an Excel

file), and xlsProducts (from another Excel file). As you can see, there’s nothing that distin-

guishes the fact that the tables are from external sources — Access treats them no differently from

any other tables.