Learn how to use the commands in Microsoft Access Database, External data tab. Explore the features of Microsoft Access database, Create tab.


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The next tab in the Ribbon External Data tab. So I click there now. All the groups in here deal with importing and linking exporting all to external data sources, be it Access, Excel, SharePoint, text files, PDF, Word documents. You will use these if you need to interact with other external data sources. The first group is Import. This button Saved Imports allows you to view and run import operations that you saved previously. The Access button allows you to import database objects such as tables, queries, forms, reports from another Access database. The Excel button allows you to import data or link to data from an Office Excel file. SharePoint List allows you to import data from the Windows SharePoint 3.0 List. You will need to have sufficient privileges on the Windows SharePoint site list in order to import or link to that specific list. The Text File command allows you to import or link to text files. Beneath the Text File is the XML File button similar to the text file button you can import or link to an XML file. Beneath that is another More button that you have seen in other groups. If you click this you will see six options, you can import or link to an ODBC Database, HTML Document, Outlook Folder, dBASE File, Paradox file or Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet. I am going to click off here. The next group over are very similar commands, but these are all exporting. You can export your data to other sources, the first option if you have saved previous export operation you can run it again by clicking this command. The next button over is the Excel, you can export selected objects to an Excel file. SharePoint List similar to the Import SharePoint List, if you have sufficient privileges to your Windows SharePoint 3.0 site, you can export a selected object up to that SharePoint site. Next to that button is the PDF or XPS button. We have installed an export to PDF or XPS add-in in our Access installation. So this button appears in the Export column and you can export the selected object, specifically like a report into a PDF file. So people who do not have Access installed, but have Acrobat Reader installed could open and read your report. Word, this command allows you to export to an RTF file that can be opened in Word. Text File, you can export similar to the import text file option, but you can export to a text file. And again another More button. If I am going to click this button, you will see quite a few options here, you will see Access Database, XML File, ODBC Database, HTML Document, dBASE File, Paradox File, Lotus 1-2-3 File or you can Merge it with Microsoft Office Word using Word's Mail Merge Wizard. It’s a very cool feature. I am going to click the more button so it goes away. Collect Data option is a brand new feature in Access 2007. This is a very cool feature. We won’t be discussing it in this particular series, but I encourage you to do some studying on this. If you click the Create E-mail button, Access 2007 walks you through a wizard. This wizard will help you create an HTML or an info path form that you can then email out to users. The users will receive these forms in their E-mail Inbox and they can fill out or change the data in that form, they can send it back to you and this Manage Replies button, you can view the replies that are collected via the E-mail and this information will be loaded into the data tables that you selected during the wizard process. The Manage Replies button allows you to view the status of the messages returned to you from your users. If you have selected to have the information automatically imported, Outlook 2007 will do this automatically for you as soon as the message is received in your Inbox. Otherwise the message will sit in your Inbox until you determine it is going to be imported into your data table. The last group in the external data tab is the SharePoint List group. All of the commands in this group deal with interacting with Windows SharePoint List. Most of these options right now are dim, because we are not connected up with the Windows 3.0 SharePoint site. But let