Link an Access 2007 database to a database that contains data access pages

A data access page is a Web page that is designed to let you view and work with data from the Internet or an intranet. This data is typically stored in an Access database. The ability to create, modify, or import data access pages is no longer supported in Microsoft Office Access 2007. However, you can still use Access 2007 to work with databases that contain data access pages.

If you want to use the design features of Access 2007 to build forms, reports, and queries but you still want to use your existing data access pages, you can use a "split database" configuration. In this kind of configuration, your data access pages (and the tables on which they depend) are contained in an .mdb file, and your forms, reports, and queries are contained in an .accdb file. To create a split database, you convert your .mdb file to the Access 2007 file format and then, in the new .accdb file, you create linked tables that link to the data in the original .mdb file. You can then maintain your forms, reports, and queries in the new .accdb file and maintain your tables and data access pages in the original .mdb file.

Note: 

• You will not be able to use some of the new data types that are available in Access 2007 (such as multivalued fields and the Attachment data type) in the tables in the .mdb file. These new data types are not available because the earlier file format (.mdb) does not support these features.

• You can create new tables in the Access 2007 database and use new data types in those tables, but the Access 2007 tables will not be available from your data access pages.

• If you want to make design changes to your tables or data access pages, you must open the .mdb file by using an earlier version of Access. In other words, you will need to keep an earlier version of Access installed on a computer for such occasions.

Important: Be sure to make a backup copy of your .mdb file and store it in a safe place before you perform these steps.

Step 1: Convert your .mdb file to the Access 2007 .accdb file format

This procedure creates a copy of the database in the Access 2007 .accdb file format and leaves the original .mdb file unchanged.

1. Start Access 2007.

2. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click Open.

3. In the Open dialog box, browse to the folder that contains the .mdb file, and then double-click the file.

4. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then point to Save As.

5. Under Save the database in another format, click Access 2007 Database.

6. In the Save As dialog box, browse to the folder where you want to save the .accdb file.

   Note: If Windows is not configured to display file name extensions, you might want to type a new name for the database in the File name box so that you can distinguish the .accdb file from the .mdb file.

7. Click Save.

   Access notifies you that the database has been upgraded. Click OK to close the message.

Step 2: Link the tables in the .mdb file to the .accdb file

1. To rename each table in the new .accdb file, right-click each table, click Rename, and then type a new name. For example, you can add the prefix "zz" to each table name. Adding a prefix groups the tables together in the Navigation Pane. You can keep these tables as backup copies, or you can delete them later to save disk space.

2. On the External Data tab, in the Import group, click Access.

3. In the Get External Data wizard, click Browse.

4. In the Get External Data dialog box, browse to the folder that contains the original .mdb file, and then double-click the file.

5. In the Get External Data wizard, select Link to the data source by creating a linked table, and then click OK.

6. In the Link Tables dialog box, click Select All, and then click OK.

   Access creates links to the tables and displays them in the Navigation Pane, under Tables.

   Tip: If you do not see the Tables category in the Navigation Pane, click the bar at the top of the Navigation Pane, and then click Object Type. If you still do not see the Tables category, click the bar at the top of the Navigation Pane again, and then click Tables or All Access Objects.

You can now use the Access 2007 version of the database. To make design changes to the tables or the data access pages, open the .mdb file by using an earlier version of Access.

You can revert to using the .mdb file by itself at any time. However, any enhancements that you make to the forms, reports, and queries in the Access 2007 (.accdb) file will not be reflected in the .mdb file. Also, if you create any new tables in the Access 2007 file after you perform this procedure, that data will not be present in the .mdb file.

Find a link to more information about how to import or link to Access data in the See Also section.