You can export Access database objects in all the file
formats from which you can import data. You can also export
information as Portable Document Format (PDF) and XML Paper
Specification (XPS) files. The specific formats available depend on
the object you are exporting, as shown in the following table.
Tip
To display a list of the export file formats available for a
specific Access object, right-click the object in the Navigation
pane, and then point to Export.
Like the import process, the export process for most file types
is orchestrated by an easy-to-follow wizard with the following
standard steps: -
In the Navigation pane, select the object you want to
export. -
On the External Data tab, in the Export group, click the
button for the program or type of file you want to create.
The Export wizard starts. -
On the wizard’s first page, depending on export format,
specify one or all of the following: -
The destination file’s location and format -
Whether to export just data, or data with
formatting -
Whether to open the file when the export process is
complete -
Whether to export only selected records
-
Click OK.
When the export process is complete, you return to the Export
wizard, which gives you the opportunity to save the export steps so
that you don’t have to repeat them for future similar export
processes. The process for saving export steps is nearly identical to
the process for saving import steps.
The steps for exporting Access database objects to PDF
or XPS files or as e-mail attachments are slightly different but are
still quite automated. You can also use an Access table or query as
the data source for the Word 2010 mail merge process; this process is
not covered in this topic, but if you are familiar with mail merge in
Word, it is relatively straightforward.
In the sections that follow, we discuss some of the issues to
bear in mind when exporting data to a specific type of file.
Exporting to Other Access Databases
It is very simple to export any single object from one Access
2010 database to either another Access 2010 database or to an Access
2007 or Access 2003 database. You can’t, however, export multiple
objects in one operation. Tip
Data types that were new in Access 2007, such as Attachment
and Rich Text, will not export properly to Access 2003. Rich text
is exported as tagged HTML, and attachments are exported to a memo
field containing only the file name of the attachment.
Exporting to Excel Worksheets
You can export a single table, form, or query from an Access
2010 database to an Excel 2010 workbook, or to a workbook that can
be opened by versions of Excel as early as Excel 5.0/95. However,
you cannot export reports.
When you export a table that contains a subdatasheet or a form
that contains a subform, Access exports only the main datasheet or
form. To export a subdatasheet or subform, you must perform another
export operation on that object.
To combine multiple Access objects into a single Excel
workbook, you first export the individual objects to different
workbooks. Then you merge all the worksheets in Excel.
Exporting to Word Documents
If you need to move a table or the results of a query to an
existing Word document, it is often easiest to simply copy and paste
the records from the datasheet. But if you want to work with the
contents of a report in Word, you need to export the report.
When you export information from Access 2010 to Word, Access
creates a Rich Text Format (RTF) document, which can be opened by
Word and various other applications.
Text files are the lowest-common-denominator file
format. Most applications can open, display, and save information in
text format. The downside to text files is that they don’t contain
any formatting information, so they look consistently plain in all
applications.
Depending on what type of content you are trying to export
from a database, you might have the option to export the layout
along with the data. If you select this option, the unformatted text
will be arranged in the text file much as it is in the Access
object. If you don’t choose this option, the information will be
saved in either delimited or fixed-length lines.
Exporting to PDF and XPS Files
If you want people to be able to view a database object but
not change it, you can save the object in the Portable Document
Format (PDF) format or XML Paper Specification (XPS) format. Use the
PDF format if you know that recipients have a PDF reader, such as
Adobe Acrobat Reader, installed on their computer. Use the XPS
format if you need all fonts, images, and colors to render precisely
on recipients’ computers.
Both the PDF and XPS formats are designed to deliver objects
as electronic representations of the way they look when printed. The
data in .pdf and .xps files is essentially static, and content
cannot be easily edited, so these formats are ideal for objects that
will be part of legal documents. Both types of files can easily be
sent by e-mail to many recipients and can be made available on a Web
page for downloading by anyone who wants them. However, the files
cannot be opened, viewed, or edited in Office 2010 programs.
When you indicate that you want to export a database object in
PDF or XPS format by clicking the PDF Or XPS button in the Export
group on the External Data tab, the Publish As PDF Or XPS dialog box
opens so that you can select the destination location and format,
assign a name, and optimize the size of the file for your intended
distribution method. You can click Options to display a dialog box
where you can specify the records or pages to include in the .pdf or
.xps version of the object and whether to include or exclude
accessibility structure tags. When you click Publish, the object is
saved with your specifications, and the Export wizard gives you the
opportunity to save the export steps. Tip
Another way to create an .xps file or a .pdf file is to
display the Backstage view, and in the left pane, click Save &
Publish. Then in the File Types area of the center pane, click
Save Object As to display the available formats for this task in
the right pane. Clicking PDF Or XPS and then clicking the Save As
button displays the Publish As PDF Or XPS dialog box, in which you
can save the file in the usual way.
Exporting to SharePoint Lists
If you have permission to create content on a
SharePoint site, you can export a table or query database object to
the site as a SharePoint list. The list content is static and will
not reflect changes made to the source table or query after the
export operation. You can’t overwrite or add data to an existing
list. Tip
You can export only one object to a SharePoint list at a
time. However, when Access exports a table, it also exports all
related tables.
Many organizations that store accounting, manufacturing,
marketing, sales, and other information on their computers have
discovered the advantages of sharing this information within the
company or with the rest of the world through a Web site. With
Access, you can export tables, queries, forms, and reports as
Web-ready HTML files. You can then view the objects in a Web
browser, such as Windows Internet Explorer.
When you export a table, query, or form, Access converts it to
an HTML table. When you export a report, Access converts it to a
series of linked HTML files (one for each page of the
report). Tip
To see the HTML tags that define the structure of the file,
you can either view the file in a Web browser or open it in a text
editor.
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