memory error on filed change

[Jen0dorf]

Hi

I've imported an excel table with 205369 records into an access table using the import wizard.

.

One field - fulldateofbaptism I need as a date field.

If I go to table properties and select date/time after a minute I get the following:-

"cannot change data type not enough disk space or memory"

I have 150gb hard drive available and 8gb memory free

Is this not enough resources? Is there another way to alter a field other than table proporties?

thanks

Ian

[aytee111]

Some notes on importing from Excel:
- Excel gets the data type of the field from data in the first 8 rows, blank fields come over as text
- during import, Access creates fields as it sees fit, with formatting, field sizes, etc as it feels like doing
- for these reasons, it is always best to have a table that you have designed according to your desired storage. After import, append the data to this second table, converting fields as desired (e.g. CDate(fulldateofbaptism))

[CJ_London]

suggest create a temporary datetime field

then use an update query to populate it with the date value in your text field

if all goes OK, delete your text field and rename your temporary field

alternative is to create your table first with the correct datatypes, then use the import wizard to append to that table rather than create a new one