Link to Excel 5.0/95 File (Access 2003 SP1)

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I use an external application that can produce an Excel export file. I’m using this file as a linked table for an Access database. The problem is that the external application produces the Excel file in the Excel 5.0/95 format. If I try to link to this directly (e.g., double-click on the linked table in the database window), I get a “System Resource Exceeded” error. If I try to open this link with VBA code, I get a similar error (“Run-time error ‘3035’ System resource exceeded.”) If I open the file in Excel and “save as” it in the current Excel format (rather than 5.0/95 format), then Access recognizes it fine and things work splendedly. Is there any way to get Access 2003 to recognize an Excel 5.0/95 file directly without going through the intermediate file conversion?

Thanks.

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Access 2002 (XP) can link to an Excel 5/0/95 file directly. What happens if you create a simple spreadsheet and save it in Excel 5.0/95 format? Can you link to that in Access? If so, the problem is in the structure of the workbook created by the external application; if not, Access 2003 is different from Access 2002.

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Hans,

Looks like you nailed it (once again!). The simple Excel 5.0/95 spreadsheet I created linked fine with Access 2003.

Incidentally, trying to import – rather than linking – the other application’s file produces the same error as linking.

It’s “curious” that Excel 2003 handles the file okay, but Access 2003 doesn’t. I suspect Excel is a little more “robust” than Access with it’s handling of the various Excel file structures.

I suspect getting the vendor to fix their export format will be no easier than, oh, ending the war in Iraq so I may try a little automation code in my Access database to open the 5.0/95 file using an instance of the Excel application object and then saving it in the 2003 format.

Thanks,

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Hans,

Looks like you nailed it (once again!). The simple Excel 5.0/95 spreadsheet I created linked fine with Access 2003.

Incidentally, trying to import – rather than linking – the other application’s file produces the same error as linking.

It’s “curious” that Excel 2003 handles the file okay, but Access 2003 doesn’t. I suspect Excel is a little more “robust” than Access with it’s handling of the various Excel file structures.

I suspect getting the vendor to fix their export format will be no easier than, oh, ending the war in Iraq so I may try a little automation code in my Access database to open the 5.0/95 file using an instance of the Excel application object and then saving it in the 2003 format.

Thanks,

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