Unrecognized Database format - how could this be??

[MsGiraffe]

I created a database on my computer using Word to use for our auction at my
son's school. I wanted to go into the database and print it out. I went to
the C drive as I could not find it any where else. I found the database in
"My data sources" but when I try to open it, I get an error message
"Unrecognized database format: How could this be since I don't have Access
as part of my Office package? I can open it in Word but cannot print out the
Database. How do I correct this problem so I can access the database and
keep using it ? Also, to keep it from happening in the future. Thanks so
much in advance for your help - I am perplexed to say the least!

 

[Doug Robbins - Word MVP]

Use the data source with a Directory type mailmerge main document in which
you insert the mergefields into the cells of a one row table. Make sure
that there is nothing else in the document.. When you execute that merge to
a new document, the new document will contain a table with one row of data
for each record in the data source. If you insert a row at the top of the
table and insert the field names into the cells in that row, you can save or
edit and save the document and use it as the data source for future mail
merges.

--
Hope this helps.

Please reply to the newsgroup unless you wish to avail yourself of my
services on a paid consulting basis.

Doug Robbins - Word MVP

 

[Peter Jamieson]

Doug has given you a way through this, but by way of info...

Although ".mdb" is the "native database format" used by Access, in fact
Access is really a "front end" that lets you develop forms, reports and so
on. It uses a "database engine" called Jet to manage .mdb databases and some
other types of file. In Office 2007 there is a new version of Jet called
ACE.

If you have a recent version of Word (2002 and later, more or less) on your
system, the Jet engine is still installed even if you do not have Access.
Word uses this engine to store its data. The "Office Address List" (OAL)
format that it creates from within Mailmerge uses a very simple Access
database structure with a single table, accessed via single Query. Because
it's so simple, in theory you do not need anything other than Word and its
mailmerge facilities to "report" the contents in the way that Doug suggests.

Even if you have Access, it's better not to open these OALs in Access, e.g.
to do reporting,because Access may change the database structure so that
Word no longer recognises them as OALs. However, if you make a copy and work
with that, you should be OK.

If you have Excel, you should also be able to open a copy of your OAL - you
may find that doing that, then modifying the column widths is as good a way
of examining/printing your data as any. But again, don't try to update the
original that way!