Part III: More-Advanced Access Techniques
618
Cross-Reference
Primary keys are discussed in Chapters 2 and 3.
- Specify the new table’s name and click Finish.
Caution
Importing an Excel file with the same name as a linked Excel file could cause problems. Give the newly
imported table a new name to avoid issues, unless you actually intend to replace an existing table.
- If you want, save the import process for later execution.
The new table now appears in the Access Navigation Pane.
Importing a SharePoint list
SharePoint lists are candidate data sources for Access databases. Because SharePoint lists reside on
Web servers, SharePoint data is accessible across the Internet to qualified users. This gives Access
the ability to share data virtually anywhere in the world.Cross-Reference
Microsoft has dramatically enhanced Access 2010’s ability to integrate with Microsoft SharePoint Services. In
fact, this capability is so important that this book devotes all of Part V to documenting SharePoint integration.
Chapter 33 shows how to consume SharePoint data in Access, and Chapters 34 and 35 describe the powerful
new ability to publish an Access database on a SharePoint server.
Because SharePoint is increasingly deployed on corporate intranets, Access is guaranteed to con-
tinue as a major player in enterprise environments.Importing data from text files
There are many reasons for text file output, such as B2B (business-to-business) data transfers. Also,
mainframe data is often output as text files consumed in desktop applications. Access can import
from two different types of text files: delimited and fixed-width. The Access Import Text Wizard
assists you in importing or exporting both delimited and fixed-width text files.Delimited text files
In delimited text files (sometimes known as comma-delimited or tab-delimited text files), each record
is on a separate line in the text file. The fields on the line contain no trailing spaces, normally use
commas or tab characters as field separators, and might have certain fields that are enclosed in
delimiters (such as single or double quotation marks). Here’s an example of a comma-delimited
text file:1,Davolio,Nancy,5/1/14 0:00:00,4000
2,Fuller,Andrew,8/14/14 0:00:00,6520
3,Leverling,Janet,4/1/14 0:00:00,1056