How to Publish an Access Database Table to the Web

How to Publish an Access Database Table to the Web
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Publishing an Access 2007 database data table to the Web is a simple process of following a few steps. By publish, we mean that you will export the table to an HTML format so that a user or visitor can download the document and read it using a standard web browser such as Internet Explorer 8 or Firefox.

A Few Caveats about Publishing Access 2007 Database Data Tables to the Web

To make your database available to the world over the Internet, you have two choices. First, you can publish a single table or part of a single table by exporting the table or partial table to an HTML format and then upload the document to the Web. Alternatively, you can use SharePoint, a Microsoft technology, to publish your entire database to the Web.

Previous versions of Access allowed you to publish your entire database using Data Access Pages but this feature is not a part of the Access 2007 distribution. It is beyond the scope of this document to discuss use of SharePoint as an option to publish your entire Access 2007 database. Therefore, this article will walk you through the process of publishing just one table in your database to the Web.

How to Publish an Access 2007 Database Data Table to the Web

Start by opening your Access 2007 database and then opening the table you want to publish to the web. You now have two choices. Either you can publish the entire table or you can publish part of the table. To publish the entire table, do nothing and move on to the next step. To publish just part of the table, select the cells or records with your mouse that you want to publish. Then, with those cells selected, move on to the next step.

Click on the EXTERNAL DATA tab and then click on the MORE button located on the EXPORT portion of the Access 2007 Ribbon (see Figure 1). Here you can see a variety of files to which you can publish your data table.

Figure 2 - Export HTML Document Window in Access 2007

Choose HTML DOCUMENT from the list and the EXPORT – HTML DOCUMENT window opens (see Figure 2). In the FILE NAME box, choose the destination and file name where you want to save your new HTML document you are about to create from your data table.

Check the box labeled EXPORT DATA WITH FORMATTING AND LAYOUT to preserve the look and feel of your data table in the HTML document. The second option in the list asks whether you want to open the HTML document after it is created. It is you choice whether to do this or not. Choosing or not choosing this option will not affect how Access 2007 will create or save the document

Figure 3 - HTML Output Options in Access 2007

The last option is only available if you had some data selected in the data table before you started this procedure. If you accidentally had some data selected but want to publish the entire table, then leave this box unchecked. If you purposely selected some data to only publish that particular portion of the table, then click this option and then click the OK button.

The HTML OUTPUT OPTIONS window opens where you can make a few final choices about how the HTML document will be formatted (see Figure 3). Here you can select an HTML TEMPLATE or choose how to encode the HTML document when Access 2007 creates and saves the file. For now, leave the default options checked and click the OK button.

One more window opens and asks if you want to save the export steps you just walked through. If you will be using these same steps repeatedly, consider saving the steps to save yourself time later. Otherwise, click the CLOSE button and go to the location where you saved your new HTML document and check it for errors.

Publishing Your New Access 2007 HTML Document to the Web

Your newly created HTML document is just like any other HTML document created by Expression Web, Word, Excel, or any other application capable of creating and saving HTML files. You can publish this table to the web using an FTP client or with any other program capable of publishing HTML files to a network or the Web.

Keep in mind that the table or partial table you just published to an HTML document is nothing more than any HTML table. This table has no special functions or parameters that can be changed. In fact, it is not unlike a table you could publish from an Excel 2007 Workbook. This table is for viewing only and cannot be manipulated, changed, edited, or deleted by any user viewing it over the Web.

Conclusion

Publishing Access 2007 content to the web is a simple procedure using the built-in export function found in the application. This export function allows you to create an HTML document from an Access 2007 data table. You can publish an entire table or you can choose which records or cells to publish to an HTML document. When finished, you have a standard HTML file that you can upload to any network including the World Wide Web.