Breaking Access Table Link (Access 97)

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Anyone know how to break the link in a MS Access 97 table w/o deleting the table? Exporting and copying retain the link. (I would like to move the table to a new area, without the link.) I have run out of options, and might be overlooking something. Thanks for the help.

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I don’t understand – what do you mean by “I would like to move the table to a new area, without the link”?

If you mean that you want to replace a linked table by a table actually residing in your database (the way you can unlink a linked Excel table in a Word document, so that it becomes an embedded object), I have to disappoint you – there is no way to do that. You’ll have to delete the link and import the table from the source database.

If you mean that you want to move the source table to another location without breaking the link, you can use the Linked Table Manager – in Access 97, it is an add-in (Tools/Add-ins). It can also be done in code – the Solutions and Order sample databases that come as with Access 97 have startup code to check, and if necessary repair the links to Northwind.mdb.

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I would like to move the table only to a new .mdb, but I don’t want to keep the links to the original table. I need to create a new app, but want to use an existing linked table, but break the link.

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I’m sure I’m dense, but I still don’t get it.

Say you have a physical table in database A. Database B contains a link to this table.

Now, you want to move the physical table to a new database C. This effectively breaks the link in database B – it still points to A, so it has become invalid.

If you don’t want to use the link any more, delete it from B; this has no effect at all on the physical table (now in C).

If you still need the link, refresh it using the Linked Table Manager – it will allow you to point the link to C, so that it is a valid link once more.

On the other hand, if you want to move the link from B to C, you can do that in two steps – copy it to, or import it into C, then delete it from B. There is no way to move a link to another database in one step.

Otherwise,

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QUOTE: “This effectively breaks the link in database B – it still points to A, so it has become invalid.”

This is the problem. I want the table in a new location, but I DO NOT WANT ANY LINKS whatsoever to the new .mdb. No matter what I try, the links remain. (Save as, Export, Copy) I have to create a new app. based on information in the old table, but I want to break the link so they are independant of each other.

The short question is: How do you break / remove a link between tables in MS Access 97???????????????

Thanks again for your help.

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I think you are getting tangled up in semantics. As I understand what you are asking, you want to create a new database which has a local copy of a linked table. In order to do that, you must import the table from the database that actually contains the table (often referred to as the back-end in a split database arrangement). As you’ve discovered, if you try to copy the table from the “front-end” where the table is linked, you simply get the link. A final question – is the actual table in another .mdb database, or is it some sort of ODBC link such as FoxPro, or dBase, text file, Excel workbook, etc?

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Sadly, it has to remain in Access 97. I am just trying to find a way to replicate the table (w/o a link) and not have to re-enter all the info. The current setup is split between 2 different network drives. (1 for the .mde, 1 for the backend)

God, I wish I was a programmer, and not just using macro’s and expressions.

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There is a replicate feature in A97, but I know nothing about replication.
Pat

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I take it the data is in an Access 97 database now, so why is it an issue that it has to remain in Access 97. Even if you are using 2000 or 2002, they can save in the Access 97 format. And being split between two network drives shouldn’t be an issue. All you need to do is create an empty database on the local hard drive and then import the desired table from the backend. I think we must be missing an important detail here.

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If you import the table from the back end, you will get all the records. However, if you change anything, that back end database will not be updated. If you’re trying to do some kind of briefcase replication, give us the specifics. That would require replicating both front and back ends, not just importing tables.

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Try importing the table from DB(A) into DB© bypassing DB(.

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