Importing an Excel spreadsheet to an Access Table

  1. In Access, point to Get External Data on the File menu, and click Import.
  2. In the dialog box that appears, browse to and select your Excel file, and click Import.
  3. On the first page of the wizard, select the First Row Contains Column Headings check box, and then click Next. If you are not using Northwind.mdb, be sure to select the check box only if your data contains column headings in the first row.
  4. On the second page of the wizard click In a New Table, click Next three times to accept the default values, and type a name for the new table in the Import to Table box.
  5. Click Finish.
  6. Access creates and opens a new database. Access imported the Excel spreadsheet as a new table.

If you would like to practice with a sample database, the Northwind Traders sample that is included with Microsoft Office has examples of all kinds.

Check to see whether it is already installed on your computer. The default folder location of the Northwind sample database is as follows, for these versions of Access:

If you cannot locate it on your computer, you can download it free from Microsoft's Download Center: Access 2000 Tutorial: Northwind Traders Sample Database. It is offered in Access 2000 format, which works for all the versions listed above.