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Access 2016: Importing/attaching PDF files: Possible?

Anonymous
2019-05-22T16:12:27+00:00

Hi, Does Access have the capability of importing pdf files into a record or db?  Under the External Data tab, I am finding PDF under the Export section but what about the Import?  Our Facilities Department sends email confirmations when requests are completed and my coworkers ( totally not familiar with Access except the minimal they need to know in order to enter service requests ) would like to attach/add the email/pdf to the specific record.  Kindly advise.

Thank you.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Access | For home | Windows

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  1. ScottGem 68,810 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2019-05-22T21:28:24+00:00

    Hi Ann, I'm an independent adviser and can help.

    The answer to your question is no. A PDF is an image file, it is not data. So it cannot be imported as data into a record.

    What you can do is use an OCR (Optical Character Reader) application to try and "read" the PDF into a text file. Depending on the format of the PDF, you may be able to format the text out from the OCR into a columnar format that can then be imported. But the quality of the image or the formatting if the document may make this difficult.

    But there is another issue here. One of the purposes of the PDF format is to protect intellectual property. Pulling data out of a PDF that you do not have rights to, maybe considered copyright infringement. I would suggest going to the author of the document and request the data in an importable form.

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  2. Anonymous
    2019-05-22T19:49:23+00:00

    Hi Ann

    I am an independent advisor and believe I can help with regards to your question.

    Access 2016 does a data type called Attachment. You can use this to store files.

    This link provides the different types of data types that you could use in Access:

    https://support.office.com/en-gb/article/data-t...

    The link below provides details about attaching files and graphics to your Access Database. Please note adding attachments will increase the size of your database quite a lot.

    https://support.office.com/en-gb/article/attach...

    Please let me know if you have any queries or questions.

    Kind Regards

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  3. Anonymous
    2019-05-22T16:48:19+00:00

    Hi, Does Access have the capability of importing pdf files into a record or db?

    The most efficient way to do this would be to store the PDF files on the system, and include the path to the file in a text column in a table.  It is then a simple matter to open the file from Access.

    You might like to take a look at BrowseDemo.zip in my public databases folder at:

    https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=44CC60D7FEA42912&id=44CC60D7FEA42912!169

    Note that if you are using an earlier version of Access you might find that the colour of some form objects such as buttons shows incorrectly and you will need to  amend the form design accordingly.

    This little demo file illustrates how to browse to a file, inserting the path into a text box on the form, and how to open or print the file from the form.  In the demo the form is unbound, but could equally well be a bound form.  The demo also illustrates how to format the text values in the controls as hyperlinks.

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