Most of the Access databases we see in Buckeye were built to handle a specific job and then kept getting added to. The import routine that worked for three vendors now has to handle seven, and nobody updated the code when the new ones started sending different column orders. The file itself might be fine. The piece that connects it to the outside world is the problem.
Import failures tend to produce one of two outcomes. Either the routine errors out visibly and someone has to go fix it before the day can continue, or it runs quietly and loads the wrong data without anyone noticing until a report comes out wrong two weeks later. The second one is harder to catch and usually means more cleanup. A solid import routine catches bad data at the intake stage, routes it to a review table, and keeps processing the rest of the batch so the failure does not stop everything.
Alison Balter is the founder, owner, and principal programmer at MS Access Solutions. She holds four Microsoft certifications: Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD), Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), and Microsoft Certified Partner (MCPa) -- one of the first professionals in the industry to earn the MCSD designation. She has authored 15 books on Microsoft Access published by Sams Publishing, including the Mastering Microsoft Access series covering Access 95 through Access 2007. She has produced over 300 internationally marketed computer training videos and is a regular speaker at national Access, SQL Server, and Visual Basic conferences. Her clients have included Shell Oil, Southern California Edison, Accenture, Northrop, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Prudential Insurance, the International Cinematographers Guild, and many U.S. government agencies.
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