Importing Data into MS Access with ODBC

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Microsoft Access allows the user to import data originating from a large number of different kinds of data sources. Access can establish a live link to the data, acting like a front end using data from the back end. This tutorial takes the reader step-by-step through the process of linking to ODBC databases so that the data can be manipulated in MS Access for the benefit of the end user.

Converting any form of data to a format to fit the rows and columns of a table is at the core of RDBMS. Legacy data in flat files have the inherent limitations of data corruption, problems of maintenance, size, and so forth. When they get moved to the RDBMS, the individual pieces of data find themselves in well structured tables, and by establishing relationships of different kinds between these tables, finding data, and maintenance of data becomes a lot easier and a lot faster.

One of MS Access's strength lies in its capability to import data originating from a large number of different kinds of data sources, text files, spread sheet files, and so on. In importing data, it has two different capabilities. It can import a table outright into the MS Access database, or it can establish a live link to the tables. In this second capacity, the data can stay where it is and the Access application acts as a front end using data from the backend. However, since it is file based, it functions more like a file server type of application. This makes Access well suited for multi-user scenarios, where several applications can feed off the single, main database.

This tutorial takes the reader step-by-step through the process of linking to ODBC databases so that the data can be manipulated in MS Access for the benefit of the end user. As previously mentioned the data can also be imported, and this will be considered in a future tutorial. It is assumed that MS Access is installed (this tutorial used the following version: MS Access 2002 (10.2627)-SP1 on windows XP-professional platform) on the desktop, which has access to the other databases, files that needs to be linked.

Next: Establishing a link to a database file >>
 

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