Cannot see how to use Saved Imports

[Middlemarch]

I'm (attempting) to improve my DB by starting anew and importing many of the components. Access offers "Do you want to save these import steps? This will allow you to quickly repeat the operation without using the wizard." but I cannot find what to do to save browsing to the db each time.


I suspect "Saved Imports" is the start, it shows the db I want, but no way to choose what component. And if I click RUN it tells me All objects were imported successfully but actually has imported nothing.
Anyone know how this should work ?

[CJ_London]

You’ve only got to Google it - for example

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/off...edimportexport

[orange]

Middlemarch,

You may find more info at Isladog's site here.

[Middlemarch]

Very odd, maybe in those links there are the answers but I certainly can't find them. That first one I had seen... and Google can be worse than useless. I never ask a question here without first having looked elsewhere.

[CJ_London]

Did you read it?

RemarksThis method has the same effect as performing the following procedure in Access:

1. On the External Data tab, choose either Saved Imports or Saved Exports.
   
2. In the Manage Data Tasks dialog box, on the Saved Imports or Saved Exports tab (depending on your choice in the preceding step), choose the specification that you want to run.
   
3. Select Run.

Before running the RunSavedImportExport method, make sure that the source and destination files exist, the source data is ready for importing, and the operation will not accidentally overwrite any data in your destination file.

[Middlemarch]

Did you read it?

Aye, with increasing despair as I realised it wasn't telling me what I wanted !
Yes I had followed those steps outlined and as said in msg 1 after RUN it tells me All objects were imported successfully.
The problem with that was I wasn't given an opportunity to chose what to import, and it had imported nothing, or at least nothing that wasn't already there.
When it tell me This will allow you to quickly repeat the operation without using the wizard I took this to mean it'd save me browsing to the folder with the source db every time ?
But perhaps it meant something else entirely ?

[CJ_London]

perhaps time for you to clarify in detail what you are trying to do as it sounds to me all you need is a linked table to your file, then when you want to import another file, replace the old file with the new one.

[Middlemarch]

@CJ. Kind of.. DB1 is my experimental file with a ton of junk as I try things out. DB2 is the 'real' one with all the good proven routines. If I want to put something from DB1 into DB2 I open DB1, copy. close it then open DB2 and paste. Possibly both could be open at once but haven't tried that. If an entire Form or query etc is wanted I use External Data-New Date Source-From Database-Access- then Browse to DB1, select the component and Import. It's bit of a mission repeatedly.... "Saved Import Steps" seemed a better way as Access hinted at quickly repeat the operation. But results were not as expected and Googling didn't help. Asking here was the next step.

[CJ_London]

don't think the wizard is the way to go since you cannot change the objects specified - and if run again will will simply reimport the objects, renaming them with a numeric suffix rather than overwriting them if they already exist.

May be possible to find the import spec (see Orange's link) and edit then save it, but seems a lot more work than simply having to copy paste.

If you want to spend the time, you could create your own routine - a table to store the path, another to store the objects you want to import and a form to manage the process.

[orange]

Middlemarch,

Perhaps you could use DoCmd.CopyObject to accomplish moving objects from DB1 to DB2.
You could set it up as a function and just pass the object names and have database names as constants.

I think we need to see an example of what you are doing. Maybe Import/Export specs is not the best choice??

[Middlemarch]

@CJ Thanks. Yes, that suggestion looks complex and may be easier to keep copy/pasting. I still don't see what SavedImports is supposed to do. certainly not what it implies. My best guess is it re-imports the last manual import. But if you want something else (from the same external source) you still have to do it manually. After RUN I see no new numeric suffix or any indication it's done anything.
I tried again but still couldn't make any sense of that link from @Orange... it was like the writer is talking about something else entirely. Thank you for the DoCmd.CopyObject suggestion. I'm just about to try that out. Apart from previous description hard to give an example as just using the inbuild Access functions to move things from one DB to another.

[CJ_London]

Does what I would expect - you save an import process to import some objects, you run the saved import and it and it imports exactly the same objects again. The fact the objects were not deleted before importing adds a 1 suffix.

After RUN I see no new numeric suffix or any indication it's done anything.

Close the manage data tasks window.


Not sure what you expect? That it will know you only want to import one of the two objects in the saved import? To overwrite an object with the same name?

What it is not doing is setting up a link to a specified file for you to pick and choose what objects to import.

[Middlemarch]

@CJ Yes I did expect it to allow to choose which objects. Mine are different each time so it's not what I want.
I just tried it again and it will not rename or add a suffix here with Access 2019. It says All objects imported successfully (what objects are not shown). The suffix is added if you import again manually.
I can't duplicate your Animals1. Unless I'm importing nothing... although the Save Steps box is ticked.

[Middlemarch]

@orange, I've successfully copied a module from DB1 to DB2 with DoCmd.CopyObject so thank you, this will do nicely
But a question about these Microsoft Docs - when they say
expression.CopyObject (DestinationDatabase, NewName, SourceObjectType, SourceObjectName)
expression A variable that represents a DoCmd object.
What is "expression" exactly ? I ended up with

DoCmd.CopyObject "D:\DBs\Test.accdb", , acModule, "Module3"

And I had to remove the brackets else it wanted "="
Also the instructions for Destination Database say "To select the current database, leave this argument blank"
But doesn't say in that case where you specify the From database.

[orange]

Middlemarch,

I would read it as:
-you are in the current database,
-you can select an object to copy to
a) a different database, or
b) the same database
-you can rename the object that you are copying.

Bottom line, you are in the FROM database when/where you have your DoCmd.CopyObject