Access: Errors during Import/Export to Excel xls
Symptoms
Access encounters Import/Export errors when working with Excel *.xls files that have cells, which contain more than 8224 bytes of data.
Import Error: The wizard is unable to access information in the file '<filename>'. Please check that the file exists and is in the correct format.
Export Error: External table is not in the expected format.
Cause
Changes that were released beginning with Access 2010 Service Pack 1 prevent Access from opening an existing Excel *.xls file if the contents of a cell are greater than 8224 bytes.
Resolution
You may use one of the following methods to prevent the issue.
- Use the *.xlsx format instead
- Restrict any memo/long text fields to a length less than 8224 bytes
- When exporting, delete the existing .xls file before performing the export using the same file name
- Open the .xls file in Excel before performing the Import/Export from Access
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