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Types of data sources for a data access page
Types of data sources for Microsoft Office Web Components on a data access page
A data access page gets its data from a Microsoft Access database, or a Microsoft SQL Server database version 6.5 or later. To design a page using data from one of these databases, the page must be connected to the database. If you have already opened a Microsoft Access database, or a Microsoft Access project that’s connected to a Microsoft SQL Server database, the data access page you create automatically connects to the current database and stores that path in the ConnectionString property of the data access page. When a user browses to the page in Internet Explorer 5 or displays the page in Page view, it displays current data from the underlying database by using the path defined in the ConnectionString property. If you design the data access page while the database is on a local drive, Microsoft Access will use the local path, which means the data won’t be accessible to others. For this reason, it’s important that you move or copy the database to a network location that’s accessible to those you want to use the page. Once it's on the network share, open the database using the UNC address. If you move or copy the database after you’ve already designed the page, you’ll have to update the path in the ConnectionString property to point to the new location.
When the data access page is connected to a database, the Database tab in the field list displays folders containing all of the tables or queries available in the database. You add data to the data access page from these record sources. If the database icon has a red X on it and you don’t see any folders underneath, you need to connect the data access page to a database to continue designing the page.
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Although the data access page gets its data from a Microsoft Access or Microsoft SQL Server database, Microsoft Office Web Component controls on the page can display data from either of these databases or from other sources. For example, the page may contain a PivotTable list, spreadsheet, or chart with data from a Microsoft Excel worksheet or a database other than Microsoft Access or Microsoft SQL Server. Depending on the data source, the data in these controls may be a snapshot of the original data or it may be live data displayed through a separate connection that the control has with its data source.
To create a Web component with data from a source other than the current database, you may have to use a program other than Microsoft Access to first publish the data to a Web page. For example, to create a PivotTable list that contains data from a Microsoft Excel worksheet, you have to publish the data from Microsoft Excel. Then, in Microsoft Access, you can open the Web page and turn it into a data access page by adding controls that are bound to a Microsoft Access or Microsoft SQL Server database. You can further customize the page by adding labels, pictures, or other features to enhance the page's appearance. From within Microsoft Access, you can create a PivotTable list control that uses data from an external source other than Microsoft Excel. You do this by specifying connection information in the Data Source section of the PivotTable Property Toolbox when you create the control.
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About the Microsoft Office Web Component Pack