Access Database Append Query
Access Database Append Query – Dealing with Common Errors When Executing Them
As a follow up on a recent blog post about Microsoft Access database Append Queries, here’s a sub-note article that we will analyse and investigate when errors can happen relating to a failure of appending records in MS access query
A quick recap: An Append MS access query is used when a user amends a few records to an existing table, typically from different sources. Append MS access query chooses new records from different sources of data and copies them to the table in database. It is useful in joining numerous records at once and it also enables the user to refine the selection with specific criteria. Users can evaluate the selection before replicating it to the existing table.
Issues with Appending Records
Access typically shows a dialog box when the append MS access query is run, expressing the possible explanations for its failure. Errors might be due to the mismatch of field data types or key violations. Apart from that, Lock and Validation Rule violations could also be the reasons.
Let’s discuss each issue individually and how we can solve these errors.
Type Conversion Failure
This is the most widely recognised error a user-experiences when appending and it happens due to the field data-type mismatch. Access commonly encounters issues if the data is not properly formatted or whenever there are missing field types. For instance, if a user tries to import data in a Numeric field such as date or age, and the data contains records like ‘Unknown’, then Access might display it as type conversion error. The problem could also arise if the date is not in the local regions standardised format (namely USA versus UK/EU dates).
Key Violation
If you are trying to append data to fields that are part of the table’s primary key, you need to check the destination table first to know if the primary key or any index has the ‘No Duplicates’ property set to the value ‘Yes’. After that, inspect the data you are appending to ensure it does not violate the destination table’s rules.
Lock Violation
If the destination table is being used by another user or is open in Design view, this might result in record locks.
This scenario prevents the MS access query from appending records. Make sure no one is accessing the database at the moment, so you can proceed without any issue.
Validation Rule Violation
A field’s Validation Rule can be set by accessing the Fields tab and selecting Validation Rule from the Field Validation group. If the rule is violated, the append MS access query will display an error. You must also examine the destination table for the given text fields and check whether they have set ‘No’ to ‘Allow Zero Length’. Fields whose ‘Required’ property is set to ‘Yes’ should not have a ‘Null’ value.
In case you often encounter all sorts of errors while working with Microsoft Access databases, it would be practical for you to invest in a mdb/accdb tool to fix and avoid incidents of potential data loss.
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