.Note You can link a table only in a Microsoft Access database, not a Microsoft Access project.
If you know that you will use your data only in Microsoft Access, you should import it. Microsoft Access generally works faster with its own tables, and, if you need to, you can modify the imported table to meet your needs just like any other table that is created in Microsoft Access.
If the data that you want to use in your Access database is also being updated by a program other than Microsoft Access, you should link it. Using this approach, the current methods of updating, managing, and sharing the data can remain in place, and you can use Microsoft Access to work with the data as well. For example, you can create queries, forms, and reports that use the external data, combine external data with the data in Microsoft Access tables, and even view and edit the external data while others are using it in the original program.
You can also link tables from other Microsoft Access databases. For example, you might want to use a table from another Microsoft Access database that is shared on a network. This is particularly useful if you want to store all of your tables in one database on a network server, while keeping forms, reports, and other objects in a separate database that is copied among users of the shared database. You can easily split an existing database into two databases by using the Database Splitter subcommand on the Database Utilities command on the Tools menu. For more information, click .