Operation Must Use an Updateable Query: New Behavior?

[John Faughnan]

I've had a standard query I run to update an Excel spreadsheet. It's
worked for years.

Today it doesn't work. At the last moment after agreeing to the
'append' dialog, I get this error message: Operation Must Use an
Updateable Query

There's a Microsoft kb article from 2003 on this:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;316475

Based on what's there I should be fine. This may be something bad with
my system (bad sector, etc) or a recent security update from Microsoft
might have introduced a new bug, or something I installed has broken
ODBC updates to Excel from Access. (Most recent versions of all
software.)

Anyone see anything like this that's new?

john
(e-mail address removed)

meta: jfaughnan, jgfaughnan, ODBC update, Excel, cannot write,
Microsoft Access

 

[John Nurick]

Hi John,

This sounds like the issue described at
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/904953/. As the result of a patent suit
Microsoft has disabled the ability to update Excel sheets via queries or
linked tables.

 

[John Faughnan]

Holy cow. Thank you.

Can I bill Microsoft for the hour I lost this morning? Jeez, did they
announce this anywhere?

john

 

[John Nurick]

It's mentioned in the small print of Office 2003 SP2 and the recent
Office XP update, but I never saw a formal announcement. There may have
been legal niceties, but Microsoft hasn't said (or can't say) what they
are. There's a description of the patent case at
http://news.com.com/Patent+ruling+costs+Microsoft+8.9+million/2100-1007_3-5735432.html
among other places.

 

[Douglas J. Steele]

It's also been mentioned in independent press, such as Garry Robinson's
http://www.vb123.com/toolshed/news/issue61.htm

 

[John Faughnan]

Wow. Not a lot of coverage! I'm surprised it hasn't hit Thurott's
column. I'll mention it to him.