Maintaining field types when using linked tables

[simon10]

Hi,

Just wondering if someone can help me with a problem I am having when using a table that is linked to an excel spreadsheet. I am doing some work for a client who wants to use an excel spreadsheet to update the data in an access table. I have linked the spreadsheet to the table and the updating seems to work ok. The problem is in trying to maintain the field types - you cannot edit these types in design view on a linked table - I have been told that they are determined from the first X rows in your spreadsheet. This would be fine but the client keeps adding new entries into the spreadsheet which changes the field types and therefore stops things working on her website that is using the data in the database.

Is there anyway of setting the field types when using linked tables or another workaround or am I going to have just create (unlinked) tables and tell them to update them by importing the data in from the spreadsheet?

Thanks for your help

 

[hneal98]

You should have a table already setup with the field types you want and then import the data into that table.

 

[simon10]

Thanks for the reply.
So I set up the table with the field types as I want them and then have to import the data in from the spreadsheet each time I update the spreadsheet in Excel. Is this correct?

Thanks

 

[hneal98]

Yep. A pain in the ...., I know, but that is the only way I could get it to work. You can try linking to the spreadsheet, that works most of the time, but I have run into the problem with that a few times as well.