Error message when you try to use data from an Excel 2007 workbook or from an Access 2007 database to create a new list in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0: "An unexpected error has occurred"

Consider the following scenario. You try to use data from a Microsoft Office Excel 2007 workbook or from a Microsoft Office Access 2007 database to create a new list in a Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 site. To do this, you use any one of the following procedures:

• You connect to a Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Web site. Then, you click Import Spreadsheet on the Create page to import data from an Excel 2007 workbook to the list.
• You open a workbook in Excel 2007, click the Design tab, click Export, and then click Export to List to export data from the workbook to the list.
• You open a database in Access 2007, click the External Data tab, and then click SharePoint List to export data from the database to the list.

However, you cannot create the list. Instead, you receive an error message that resembles one of the following:

This issue occurs if one of the following conditions is true:

• You try to import or export more than 231 columns from the Excel 2007 workbook to the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 list.
• You try to import or export more than 232 columns from the Access 2007 database to the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 list.

To work around this issue, use one of the following procedures:

• Use less than 231 columns when you create a list from data in an Excel 2007 workbook.
• Use less than 232 columns when you create a list from data in an Access 2007 database.

For more information about how to export data to a Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 list from Excel 2007 or from Access 2007, see Excel 2007 Help or Access 2007 Help.