Ken said:
I feel dumb, I am not a new user, just a learning user.
Don't feel bad, hon. Access is tough, and there's a lot to learn.
I cannot find 'get external data' anywhere on database file menu
Believe it or not, sometimes it really *isn't* there. Did you open the
database with the runtime version of Access or with the /runtime switch? You
won't see the built-in menus, so "Get External Data" won't show up on the
File menu.
Did someone else build the application? If so, you may be using custom menus
and the built-in menus may just be hidden. If this is the case, hold the
<SHIFT> key down before opening the database and hold it until the database
is finished opening. The startup options will be ignored, so the built-in
menus will be displayed. (This works as long as the database developer
didn't implement User-level security and eliminate this option for users.)
Are you using a version of Access where the "Show full menus after a short
delay" option is checked? The File menu might not be extended all the way if
you haven't used some of the items on that menu lately. If this is the case,
hold the mouse on the menu for a few extra seconds to extend it all the way.
Last, but not least, this item may have been removed from the built-in File
menu. If so, you can use the Customize dialog to reset the menu bar, and all
of the original items will be displayed on this menu again.