You can copy information from Access into another program easily enough, but you probably don’t expect to be able to do the reverse. After all, a database is a strict, rigorously structured collection of information. If you try to copy a table from a Word processing program, then you’ll lack vital information, like the data types of each column. For that reason, Access doesn’t allow it.
However, Access makes a special exception for everyone’s favorite spreadsheet program, Excel. You can copy a selection of cells in Excel, and then paste them into Access to create a new table. This procedure works because Excel does distinguish between different types of data (although it isn’t nearly as picky as Access). For example, Excel treats numbers, dates, text, and TRUE/FALSE values differently.
Here’s how to use this feature:
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In Excel, select the cells you want to copy.
If your spreadsheet includes column titles, then include those headers in the selection. Access can use the titles as field names.
Note: It doesn’t matter what version of Excel you havethis trick works with them all.
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Hit Ctrl+C to copy your selection.
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Switch to Access.
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Click anywhere in the navigation pane, and then press Ctrl+V.
Access notices that you’re trying to paste a group of Excel cells, and it tries to transform them into a table. First, it asks if the first row in your selection includes column titles.
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If you selected the column titles in step 1, then choose Yes. Otherwise, choose No.
If you choose Yes, then Access doesn’t need to create random field namesinstead, it can use your headers.
Access creates a new table to deal with the new data. This table’s named after the Excel sheet. If your sheet’s named Sheet1 (as so many are in Excel), you now have a Sheet1 table.
Once Access finishes the paste, it shows a confirmation message to let you know everything’s finished successfully.
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Click OK.
Now you can refine your table to make sure the data types and field names are exactly what you want.
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