Update Query from Access 2003 Linked Table

[Hendy88]

Hello again,

I have a table in Access that is linked (inbound) from an Excel
spreadsheet. When I click on the table to view the records,
everything is fine and it's link is setup perfectly (i.e. what I see
in the Excel spreadsheet is exactly what I see in the Access table).

However, I can't run an Update Query against that table to update it's
contents to another table. (i.e. Table Original "Linked Excel" ->
Update Query -> Table New)

I get the error: Cannot update '(expression)'; field not updateable.

I can't find very much on this error on the internet, except a blog
about not being able to use an Update Query with a linked table in
Access 2003. Is this true?

I CAN however, append the "linked table's" contents to another table
(that works fine), but data in the spreadsheet sometime changes, and I
can't append a record that already exists in another table.

Basically what I have are "field agents" who email me a spreadsheet bi-
monthly with updated information about their customers, well the
append query has already added them from this "linked excel table" the
very first time. But if the information in the spreadsheet changes,
it won't append that record anymore because it's already in the
"Master Table". So I need a way to update the information off the
spreadsheet, and I thought an Update Query would be the answer.

Is there a workaround? Or perhaps someone has a better idea?

 

[Douglas J. Steele]

The ability to update linked Excel spreadsheets was removed from Access as
the result of Microsoft losing a lawsuit last year.