MS-Access / Getting Started

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Linking dBASE Files

Linking files from a foreign database is almost as easy as linking an Access table. To link to a file from dBASE, do the following:

1. Open the Access database to which you want to link the file. If that database is already open, close any objects so that only the Navigation pane is visible.
2. On the External Data tab, in the Import & Link group, click the More command, and then click dBASE File. Select Link To The Data Source By Creating A Linked Table in the Get External Data - dBASE File dialog box.
3. Click the Browse button to open the File Open dialog box shown earlier, which lists the types of dBASE files to which you can link. Select dBASE III, dBASE IV, or dBASE 5, as appropriate, in the list to the right of the File Name box, and then select the folder and the name of the file to which you want to link. If you're connecting over a network, select the logical drive that is assigned to the network server that contains the database you want. If you want Access to automatically connect to the network server each time you open the linked file, type the full network location in the File Name box instead of selecting a logical drive. For example, on a Windows network you might enter a network location such as
   \\dbsvr\dbase\shared\newstore.dbf
4. Click Open to return to the Get External Data - dBASE File dialog box, and then click OK to link to the selected dBASE file.
5. If the link procedure is successful, the new table will have the name of the file you selected (without the file name extension). If Access finds a duplicate name, it will generate a new name by adding a unique integer to the end of the name.