Microsoft Access 2010 : Exporting Information (part 2) - Exporting to XML Files

1/1/2012 6:25:51 PM

Exporting to XML Files

You can export tables, queries, forms, and reports from Access in an XML format that can be used by other applications. Clicking the XML File button in the Export group on the External Data tab displays the Export wizard, where you specify the destination location and assign a name. Clicking OK displays the Export XML dialog box, where you can do one of the following:

Select the Data (XML) check box to export the data.
Select the Schema Of The Data (XSD) check box to create a separate .xsd file containing the structure of the .xml file.
Select the Presentation Of Your Data (XSL) check box to export an XLS Stylesheet that describes how to display the XML data.

Tip

To export a table as a combined data/schema file, in the Export XML dialog box, click More Options, click the Schema tab, click Embed Schema In Exported XML Data Document, and then click OK.

When you click OK, the object is saved with your specifications, and the Export wizard gives you the opportunity to save the export steps. You can then view the tagged .xml file in Internet Explorer and the .xsd file in any text editor.

In this exercise, you’ll export an Access table to another Access database and to an Excel workbook. Then you’ll export the table as both a formatted and an unformatted text file.

Set Up

You need the GardenCompany10 database you worked with in the preceding exercise to complete this exercise. Create a blank database, and save it as Exported. Then open the GardenCompany10 database, and follow the steps.

In the Navigation pane, under Tables, click Suppliers.

We are going to export the entire table, so there is no need to open it first.
On the External Data tab, in the Export group, click the Access button.

The Export – Access Database wizard starts.
On the wizard’s first page, click Browse.
In the File Save dialog box, navigate to your practice file folder, click Exported, and then click Save.
In the Export – Access Database wizard, click OK.

The Export dialog box opens.

You can export the table’s structure and data or only the structure.
With Suppliers displayed in the Export Suppliers to box and Definition and Data selected in the Export Tables area, click OK.

Access exports the selected table.
On the Save Export Steps page, click Close.
In Windows Explorer, navigate to your practice file folder and double-click Exported.
Tip

You can open only one database at a time in a single instance of Access. If you open a second database without first closing the one you are working in, Access prompts you to save recent changes and then closes the first database before opening the second. To open two databases at the same time, start a second instance of Access from the Start menu, and then open the second database from the Backstage view. You can also double-click the database file in Windows Explorer.

The Exported database opens in a separate instance of Access 2010.
In the Navigation pane, under Tables, double-click Suppliers. Then verify that the table exported correctly, and close this instance of Access.

Now suppose you need to provide the information in the Suppliers table to someone who doesn’t have access to the database. Let’s export the same table as an Excel workbook.
In the GardenCompany10 database, open the Suppliers table in Datasheet view. Then on the External Data tab, in the Export group, click the Excel button.

The Export – Excel Spreadsheet wizard starts.
On the wizard’s first page, click the Browse button. Then in the File Save dialog box, navigate to the practice file folder, and click Save.

The File Name setting reflects your specifications.

By default, the spreadsheet has the same name as the table it’s based on and will be saved in Excel Workbook (*.xlsx) format.

Tip

You can change the name and format in the File Save dialog box, or you can edit the name and select a different format in the wizard.
Select the Export data with formatting and layout check box and the Open the destination file after the export operation is complete check box. Then click OK.

Access exports the table to an Excel workbook. Excel starts and opens the workbook.

The Suppliers table has been exported to the Suppliers sheet in the workbook.

Troubleshooting

The appearance of buttons and groups on the ribbon changes depending on the width of the program window.
Close the Excel workbook, and then on the Save Export Steps page of the Export – Excel Spreadsheet wizard, click Close.

Suppose you want to make the data in the Suppliers table available in Outlook. You can’t export directly to Outlook, but you can export the data from Access to a text file and then import it into Outlook. Let’s export the text file now.
With the Suppliers table open in Datasheet view, on the External Data tab, in the Export group, click the Text File button.

The Export – Text File wizard starts.
With the path to your practice file folder displayed in the File name box, change the default file name from Suppliers.txt to Suppliers_fixed.txt.
Select the Export data with formatting and layout check box and the Open the destination file after the export operation is complete check box. Then click OK.

The Encode ‘Suppliers’ As dialog box opens.

From here, you can select the encoding format options you want.
With the Windows option selected, click OK.

Access exports the table as a formatted text file. Your default text editor starts and opens the Suppliers_fixed text file.

Access has separated the rows and columns of the table with dashes and pipe characters.
Close the text file, and then close the wizard without saving the export steps.
Repeat steps 14 through 18 to export the table again, but this time change the name to Suppliers_delim.txt, and don’t select the Export data with formatting and layout and Open the destination file after the export operation is complete check boxes.

The Export Text wizard starts.

This wizard will guide you through the process of setting various options.

Tip

You can experiment with different wizard options, moving as far as the last page before backing up and trying a different approach. At any point, you can click Finish to accept the default settings for all the wizard’s remaining options.
Switch between the Delimited and Fixed Width options, noticing the difference in the data in the Sample export format box.
With Delimited selected, click Next.

The options on the wizard’s next page vary depending on whether you are exporting a delimited or fixed-width file.
Leave Comma selected, select the Include Field Names on First Row check box, and click Finish.

Access exports the table as an unformatted text file.
Close the wizard without saving the export steps.
Start Windows Explorer, navigate to your practice file folder, and double-click Suppliers_delim.

The exported text file opens in your default text editor.

The delimited text file, displayed in Notepad.