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Introduction

Microsoft Office Access 2003 allows you to incorporate information from a variety of sources into a database and exchange information from a database into other sources. You can use the Access import and export features to easily move data between your database and other databases and programs.

When you get data from other sources, you have the choice to import the data into a new table or link an existing table of the data to the database. When you import data, Access converts and copies the data into the database file. When you link to the data in another program, the data stays separate from the Access database. You can import data or link to data from several sources, including Microsoft Access, other databases (such as Paradox), HTML (a standard Web format), Microsoft Office Excel, Microsoft Exchange, and Microsoft Office Outlook.

If you work with XML (Extensible Markup Language), Access 2003 allows you to import and export XML data as well as transform the data to and from other formats using XML related files. XML is a new standard that enables you to move information across the Internet and programs where the data is stored independently of the format so you can use the data more seamlessly in other forms.

Microsoft Office 2003's data sharing techniques allow you to use other Office tools to work with your data. For example, you can merge your Access data with Microsoft Office Word to create form letters, or you can use Microsoft Office Excel's analysis tools on your Access data.

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