How can I modify a saved Microsoft Access 2007 or 2010 Import Specification?

Question

Does anyone know how to modify an existing import specification in Microsoft Access 2007 or 2010? In older versions there used to be an Advanced button presented during the

Answer 1

I have just discovered an apparent bug in the whole Saved Import/XML setup in Access. Also frustrated by the rigidity of the Saved Import system, I created forms and wrote code to pick apart the XML in which the Saved Import specs are stored, to the point that I could use this tool to actually create a Saved Import from scratch via coded examination of a source Excel workbook.

What I've found out is that, while Access correctly imports a worksheet per modifications of default settings by the user (for example, it likes to take any column with a header name ending with "ID" and make it an indexed field in the resulting table, but you can cancel this during the import process), and while it also correctly creates XML in accordance to the user changes, if you then drop the table and use the Saved Import to re-import the worksheet, it ignores the XML import spec and reverts back to using its own invented defaults, at least in the case of the "ID" columns.

You can try this on your own: import an worksheet Excel with at least one column header name ending with "ID" ("OrderID", "User ID", or just plain "ID"). During the process, be sure to set "Indexed" to No for those columns. Execute the import and check "Save import steps" in the final dialog window. If you inspect the resulting table design, you will see there is no index on the field(s) in question. Then delete the table, find the saved import and execute it again. This time, those fields will be set as Indexed in the table design, even though the XML still says no index.

I was pulling my hair out until I discovered what was going on, comparing the XML I built from scratch with examples created through the Access tool.