WD: Queries Tab Not Available When Using Access via ODBC

• Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
• Microsoft Word for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
• Microsoft Word 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

When you use a Microsoft Access database file by means of ODBC as a mail merge data source or as a DATABASE field, the Queries tab (as pictured on page 678 in the Word 6.0 User’s Guide) is not available. with

CAUSE

Microsoft Access must be running to generate the results of a query. ODBC drivers do not activate the source application; they access the data file created by the application.

WORKAROUND

To use an Access query as a data source, open the file using dynamic data exchange (DDE) rather than ODBC.

If DDE is not available:

1. If Microsoft Access is not installed on the computer, install it. If Access is installed, then remove Access through its setup program and then re-install Access.

2. Make sure the Confirm Conversions option is selected in the Open Data Source dialog box. Also, verify that the following line is in the [Extensions] section of your WIN.INI file

         MDB=<path>\msaccess.exe  ^.MDB
   

   where <path> is the location of the Access program directory. For example:

         MDB=C:\ACCESS\msaccess.exe  ^.MDB