Data Import and Export

Microsoft Access and Microsoft Excel  

Introduction

As a spreadsheet application with various analysis tools, Microsoft Excel provides some features that are not available in Microsoft Access or some results can be difficult to get in the database. Therefore, it would not be unusual that you want to use the data of a table in a spreadsheet. You have various options.

Probably the easiest way to transfer data from Microsoft Access to a spreadsheet involves copying and pasting. To start, in Microsoft Access, you can open a table in Datasheet View then select one, some, or all records. After selecting the record(s), you can copy them, open Microsoft Excel, click the cell that would host the top-left value, and paste.

If you use the copy and paste technique, you would have to open the table first. Another technique consists of exporting, and you can do it without first opening the table:

• Before exporting a table, in the Navigation Pane, you can first click the table. Then, on the Ribbon, click External Data. In the Export section, click the Excel button
• In the Navigation Pane, right-click the desired table, position the mouse on Export, and click Excel

This would open the Export - Excel Spreadsheet dialog box with the path where the file will be saved. The default folder is the My Documents:

The dialog box provides various options. For example, if you have Microsoft Office Excel 2007, you can accept the format with .xlsx extension. If you have a previous version, click the arrow of the File Format combo box and select the version. After making the selections, you can click OK. When the exporting is over, a message box would let you know.

Practical Learning:  Using a Spreadsheet

1. Start Microsoft Access
2. Open the Clarksville Ice Cream database you created in Lesson 2 and continued in Lesson 4

If you had worked on a spreadsheet to create a list of items and you want to convert that list into a table useful in a database, you can. Microsoft Access allows you to import a spreadsheet from Microsoft Excel, Corel Paradox, Lotus 1-2-3, or one of many other spreadsheet applications on the market. Before importing the spreadsheet, you should prepare it and you have many options. When creating the spreadsheet, you may have created a list anywhere on the document, without a title, and only the list of values. Here is an example:

In this case, the spreadsheet is ready. When you import such a spreadsheet, Microsoft Access would be able to figure out where the list starts and where it ends. Microsoft Access can even identify the column names and their records (where the records start and where they end). The database engine can also identify the data type of each column, based on the values used in their fields.

On the other hand, you may have created a spreadsheet that includes sections other than the list you want to use in your database. Here is an example:

If you try to directly import such a spreadsheet, the database engine may get confused. It would not know where the actual list starts and where it ends. If you insist, you can still import the spreadsheet but you would get unpredictable results. If you create a spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel, Corel Paradox, or Lotus 1-2-3, and if the spreadsheet contains a mix of the desired list and other items, you can create a "name" for the list. To create a name in Microsoft Excel, select the list:

Then, on the Ribbon, click Formulas. In the Defined Names section, click the Define Name... button. In the New Name dialog box, specify the name and click OK. To create a name in the other applications, check their documentation.

After creating, preparing and saving the spreadsheet, you can import it. To do this in Microsoft Access, start a database:

• On the Ribbon, click External Data. In the Import section, click the Excel button
• If you have created a table that will receive the data, in the Navigation Pane, right-click that table, position the mouse on Import, and click Excel

This would start the Get External Data - Excel Spreadsheet wizard. You would then have to specify the file that holds the spreadsheet, and click OK. In the second page of the wizard, you would be asked to identify the section (sheet) where the table exists. You would also have the opportunity to provide some details about the data being imported.

Instead of manually importing a spreadsheet, you can select the values in a spreadsheet, copy them, and paste them in a table in Microsoft Access.

Practical Learning:  Importing a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet

If you don't have Microsoft Office Excel 2010, skip this section

1. From the resources that accompany these lessons, open the Clarksville Ice Cream.xlsx file.
   Notice a spreadsheet named Employees
2. Select cells from C5 to F10
3. On the Ribbon, click Home and, in the Clipboard section, click Copy
4. Return to Microsoft Access and click the Home tab on the Ribbon
5. On the table, right-click the intersection of the column headers and row header  in the Clipboard section of the Home tab of the Ribbon, click the Paste button
    
   
6. When you receive a message box letting you know that a few records would be created, click Yes
7. Double-click ID, type EmployeeID and press Enter
8. To save the table, on the title bar, click the Save button
9. Type Employees as the name of the new table and click OK
10. Close the table

Whether you have Microsoft Office Excel 2010 or not, continue the lesson here

1. On the Ribbon, click External Data
2. In the Import & Link section, click Excel
3. In the Get External Data - Excel Spreadsheet, click Browse...
4. Locate the folder that contains the resources for our lessons and select it
5. Select the Clarksville Ice Cream.xlsx file and click Open
6. In the Get External Data - Excel Spreadsheet, click OK
7. In the first page of the wizard, click the Show Named Ranges radio button and, in the list, click PayrollInformation
    
   
8. Click Next
9. In the second page of the wizard, click the First Row Contains Column Headings check box
    
   
10. Click Next
11. In the third page of the wizard, accept all defaults and click Next
12. In the fourth page of the wizard, accept all defaults and click Next
13. Set the name of the table to Payroll and click Finish
14. In the last page of the wizard, click Close
15. In the Navigation Pane, double-click the Payroll table to open it
16. Double-click ID, type PayrollID and press Enter
17. Close the Payroll table

If you don't have Microsoft Office Excel 2010, follow the same steps to import the Employees spreadsheet.

Microsoft Access and Text Files

You can create a table using data from a text file. If you intend to import a text document, format it so that Microsoft Access can recognize where a field starts and where it ends. The file can be created using Notepad. If the file is from another type of application, you can first convert its data to text, save it as a text file, and then import it.

If you are creating the (text) file in Notepad, the delimitation of a field is usually done by pressing Tab after creating the fields' content. Instead of the Tab key, you can also use a comma or a semi-colon to separate two fields. Since a field is usually made of more than one word (such as an address), you can enclose the content of each field in double quotes, as in "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue". A file that contains the data to be imported must also indicate where a record starts and where it ends. If you are creating the file in a text editor, the delimitation of a record is done by pressing Enter at the end of each record.

To import a text file in Microsoft Access:

• On the Ribbon, click External Data and, in the Import section, click the Text File button
• If you had previously created a table that would receive the values, in the Navigation Pane, right-click that table, position the mouse on Import, and click Text File

Practical Learning:  Importing a Text Document

1. To start a new database, click File and click New
2. Set the name to Red Oak High School
3. Click Create
4. On the Ribbon, click External Data
5. In the Import & Link section, click Text File
6. In the Get External Data - Text File dialog box, click the Browse button
7. Locate the resources that accompany these lessons and select it
8. Click Students.txt and click Open
9. On the dialog box, click OK
10. On the first page of the Import Text Wizard, accept that the text be Delimited and click Next
     
    
11. In the second page, accept that the delimiter be set to Comma and check the box stating: First Row Contains Field Names
     
    
12. Click Next
13. Accept the defaults of the third page of the wizard and click Next
14. Accept to contents of the fourth page of the wizard and click Next
15. Accept to import to table Students and click Finish
16. You receive a confirmation message when the table has been imported.
    Click Close
17. In the Navigation Pane, double-click the Students table to open it
18. Double-click ID, type StudentID and press Enter
19. Save and close the Students table

The easiest way to use data from a Microsoft Access database to an external application is to save it as plain text. The reason is that almost every application that deals with databases can import text and convert it into a spreadsheet or a database table. This is only possible if the text file is appropriately formatted. Fortunately, if you ask Microsoft Access to save a table to text, it would take care of formatting it.

To save a table as text:

• In the Navigation Pane, click the table you want to export. On the Ribbon, click External Data and, in the Export section, click the Text File button
• In the Navigation Pane, right-click the table that holds the data, position the mouse on Export, and click Text File

This would open the Export - Text File dialog box with the name of the file using the .txt extension. The default folder where the file would be saved is My Documents. If you want another, you can select it by clicking the Browse button. Once you are ready to export, you can click OK. This would open the Export Text Wizard that you can follow:

You would have various options to specify how you want Microsoft Access to format the document. You would also choose whether to include the column headers or not.

Microsoft Access and XML

An XML file is essentially a document made of at least one table. Normally, the table is very well structured because that's the essence of XML. An XML document can contain disparate data with various parents and different child nodes all over the place. Therefore, before importing an XML file to your database, you should be familiar with its structure.

A typical XML file starts with a root node:

<?xml version="1.0" standalone="yes"?>

Under it, the global parent node starts and closes itself:

<?xml version="1.0" standalone="yes"?>
<FunFurniture>
</FunFurniture>

This global parent node is not the table. Inside that node, you should have a node that would represent a table and it can repeat itself as many times as necessary:

<?xml version="1.0" standalone="yes"?>
<FunFurniture>
  <Employees>
  </Employees>
  <Employees>
  </Employees>
</FunFurniture>

Notice that, in our example, what we refer to as a record is in plural. This is not required. It is just our choice. In this example, the Employees node is our table. Put it another way, each Employees node represents the table we want.

Inside each table, you should have the name of each column followed by its value:

<?xml version="1.0" standalone="yes"?>
<FunFurniture>
  <Employees>
    <EmployeeNumber>924795</EmployeeNumber>
    <FirstName>Donald</FirstName>
    <LastName>Tripleton</LastName>
    <Title>Sales Manager</Title>
  </Employees>
  <Employees>
    <EmployeeNumber>274957</EmployeeNumber>
    <FirstName>Jeanne</FirstName>
    <LastName>Wooley</LastName>
    <Title>Sales Associate</Title>
  </Employees>
  <Employees>
    <EmployeeNumber>684078</EmployeeNumber>
    <FirstName>Irene</FirstName>
    <LastName>Polsen</LastName>
    <Title>Sales Associate</Title>
  </Employees>
  <Employees>
    <EmployeeNumber>297149</EmployeeNumber>
    <FirstName>Monica</FirstName>
    <LastName>Jackson</LastName>
    <Title>Sales Associate</Title>
  </Employees>
</FunFurniture>

The group of nodes inside the table represents the columns and their values. Of course an XML document can be more than that but this is a typical structure of a normal XML document that can be imported.

After creating and saving an XML file, you can import it in Microsoft Access. To do this, in the External Data tab of the Ribbon and in the Import section, click the XML File button . This would display the Get External Data - XML File dialog box. After selecting the file and clicking OK, a dialog would come up to help you identify the table to use in the document. It would display the node(s) that indicate(s) a table.

Practical Learning: Importing an XML File

1. To start a new database, click File and click New
2. Set the name to Fun Furniture
3. On the Ribbon, click External Data
4. In the Import & Link section, click XML File
5. In the Get External Data - XML File dialog box, click the Browse button
6. Locate the resources that accompany these lessons and select it
7. Click employees.xml
8. Click Open
9. Click OK
10. In the list, click the Employees node and accept to import both the structure and the data of the table
     
    
11. Click OK
12. You receive a confirmation message. Click Close
13. In the Navigation Pane, double-click the Employees table to open it

If you have created a (complete or semi-complete) database that you want to use outside of Microsoft Access, one way you can transfer it is to change its format into XML. Fortunately Microsoft Access can take care of the whole process for you. In fact, besides exporting a table, you can also ask Microsoft Access to create both a schema file and a style sheet for the table.

To export a table to XML format, in the Navigation Pane:

• Right-click the table that holds the data, position the mouse on Export, and click XML File
• Click the table you want to export. On the Ribbon, click External Data and, in the Export section, click More -> XML File

The Export - XML File dialog box that comes up allows you to verify the name of the file that will be created and the path where it will go. Once you are ready, you can click OK. A dialog box would come up asking which one(s) of the three files you want to have created:

If you want to create a more elaborate XML application with advanced options, you can click the More Options button. This would close the previous dialog box and open another one:

This dialog box allows you to specify more details on how the table should be exported. For example, you can change the encoding scheme you want. The two options available are UTF-8 (which should be enough for characters in US English) and UTF-16 (if you are planning to use Unicode or international characters) for characters referred to as wide characters. By default, when you ask Microsoft Access to create an extensible style sheet (XSL), it would create the file using the same name as the table. If you want a different name, you can click the Transforms button. This allows you either to select a different file or to create the file with a different name. Also, by default, if you ask Microsoft Access to create a schema, it creates an XSD file using the same name as the table. If you want a different name, you can click the Schema tab and specify another name for the file.

After making your selections, you can click OK. The file(s) you specified would be created in the folder that was indicated.