paigeclements
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Batch import of excel files to Access
How can I take an entire directory of 125 different excel files and import them into an Access database without doing it one at a time. The file names are all different but the "results" area I am wanting to pull out is the same in all of them. Is there a way to run through a directory, pull in the data, change the file name to zz____ , then go to the next file?
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Thank you guys!! We made the template so it is just xls. Don't even ask why this wasn't done via survey monkey or some other survey package - too many non-technical people to fight with and survey monkey doesn't do tables. Anyway - all of the files are named differently - they each have the name of the hospital and then the month/year of submission. (such as BaptistHealth_Feb2013.xls)
There is a tab they fill in and then a hidden tab with a named range called "results" in all of them. To link all 125 sheets to access would take just as long as me importing them one by one and I have to do this monthly so I would have to relink every spreadsheet monthly.
The code above is great and should be just what I need. It allows me to loop through the directory, pull the results, and rename the file. And of course I wasn't going to name them all zz - it would be zz+filename. And I can input the directory to import and specify where to put the table.
There is a tab they fill in and then a hidden tab with a named range called "results" in all of them. To link all 125 sheets to access would take just as long as me importing them one by one and I have to do this monthly so I would have to relink every spreadsheet monthly.
The code above is great and should be just what I need. It allows me to loop through the directory, pull the results, and rename the file. And of course I wasn't going to name them all zz - it would be zz+filename. And I can input the directory to import and specify where to put the table.
The suggestion was to link them one at a time and import the data into a single table and then delete the link and move on and link the next one and import that, NOT to link them and leave them that way.
At some point you need to get all the data into a single table and the linking method avoids having to have separate tables for each spreadsheet. The number of which will multiply every month. You are not going to let them accumulate are you? If you import the separate sheets, you now need to create separate append queries or do that in a code loop to get all the data in one place. If you don't consolidate the data, you end up with an ever growing union query that will break when it reaches its limit which is far lower than 125. Not to mention the bloat caused by importing all the data into separate tables before appending it to the consolidation table. You will need to compact and repair after each monthly process.
At some point you need to get all the data into a single table and the linking method avoids having to have separate tables for each spreadsheet. The number of which will multiply every month. You are not going to let them accumulate are you? If you import the separate sheets, you now need to create separate append queries or do that in a code loop to get all the data in one place. If you don't consolidate the data, you end up with an ever growing union query that will break when it reaches its limit which is far lower than 125. Not to mention the bloat caused by importing all the data into separate tables before appending it to the consolidation table. You will need to compact and repair after each monthly process.
It might be easier if you changed the file extension from .xls to .zz, rather than prepend the file name.
When you tweak the code, you will need to reference the results named range.
When you tweak the code, you will need to reference the results named range.
As an alternative to linked tables, you can use the IN clause in a query that points to an external data source such as an Excel worksheet or named range.
Pat,
Part of the DoCmd.TransferSpreadsheet command is to specify the table name as I do in my example.
Since I didn't know that he had multiple worksheets in the SS, he will have to specify the range portion which is farther into the TransferSpreadsheet options.
Part of the DoCmd.TransferSpreadsheet command is to specify the table name as I do in my example.
DoCmd.TransferSpreadsheet acImport, , "MyTableName", InputPath & InputFile
Since I didn't know that he had multiple worksheets in the SS, he will have to specify the range portion which is farther into the TransferSpreadsheet options.
I would like to try implementing the Accepted Solution above. However, as I am relatively new to coding in Access, I am unsure of where to copy and paste this code to for executing in Access. Any help on this fundamental knowledge would be most appreciated. Thanks.
If you want the data to end up in the same able, I would link to the sheets rather than importing them and run an append query to copy the data into the target table. Using this method, having a common sheet name works to your advantage.
And finally, don't forget to consider the other Excel extensions. It's not just .xls anymore.