Import File Automation 1

[Janice7]

I have a process which involves importing text files into tables - using the File -> Get External Data option in Access. Followed by choosing various steps neccessary.

Is there a solution to automate this process? The Macro only offers limited capabilities. I'm a beginner Access user, so please keep the terms simple.

Thanks

 

[grnzbra]

Check out the transfertext method in help. the tricky part is the specification. to create a specification, go throught the manual process for importing a text file. make sure the name of the file to be imported is .txt. (you are not limited to .txt extensions, but it makes it easy to use the wizard to set up the specification). set the wizard to see .txt files and find the one you want to import. on the next screen, click on Advanced. This will bring you to a grid where you can specify the beginning and length of each field. when done, save the specification (we gave it the name of the input file concatinated with "spec" so that we would instantly know which file was associated with it.) Then you can change the name back to the original extension and run the transfer text command to bring in this file.