Linking an existing MS Excel table with a MS Access table

Sometimes when working on a project you may find yourself utilizing the benefits of both Microsoft Access and Excel but require that the data in each be stored, sorted and queried from within Access. Well this can be achieved by linking the Access table with an existing Excel worksheet. To do so please follow these steps from within Microsoft Access:

1. Go to File
2. Click Get External Data
3. Click Link Tables
4. Navigate to the Excel file
5. Select the Worksheet
6. Click Next twice
7. Click Finished

Now a link to the Excel table will appear in your Access database window under Tables. You can select the link and create a query as you normally would. When you link to an Excel table, the original Excel table will display all Access operations. You can create queries, forms, and reports, and add or delete data to the Excel table—just as you could do if you had imported it as an Access table. Later, you can use a Make Table query to create an Access table from the Excel data, if you so desire.