Use Data from Other Applications or Databases

Microsoft Access makes it easy to work with data from elsewhere on your network.

Move data permanently into your database by pasting or importing   You can move several different types of data into Microsoft Access. For example, you can move data that is stored as text, in a supported database format, or as a Microsoft Excel list. Microsoft Access wizards can help you import data. To import external data into your database, click Get External Data (File menu), and then click Import. To create a link to external data, click Get External Data, and then click Link Tables.

View and update data stored in another application by creating links   What if you want to work with data stored and maintained in a different application or in another database, such as Paradox? Create a link to your Microsoft Access database from a table in a supported database format. Users can then view and update the linked data, just as they view and update data stored in Microsoft Access. The changes are saved and stored in the original application’s file, so that users who work with the data using the original application can continue to do so.

Next Steps

To	See
Learn more about using forms for data entry	Use Your First Microsoft Access Database
Move Microsoft Excel data into Microsoft Access	Move a Product List into Microsoft Access