How to connect Microsoft Access with SharePoint

This "how-to-connect" documentation will explain the initial configuration of an example connection from Microsoft Access to a SharePoint Online List in Office 365. We will be synchronizing data stored in Microsoft Access.

This guide presupposes that you have installed the Layer2 Cloud Connector and that you are familiar with its basic functionality. The Layer2 Cloud Connector User Documentation will provide you with all necessary information.

Contents

1. Configuring Microsoft Access

2. Configuring the Layer2 Cloud Connector

2.1 Creating a new connection

2.2 Configuring the Data Entity 1

2.3 Configuring the Data Entity 2

2.4 Running your connection

3. Hints and known issues

3.1 Connection direction

3.2 Accessing shared files

3.3 Verification failed

1. Configuring Microsoft Access

To Connect to Microsoft Access you need to have the sales@layer2.pro;" this property should describe the user you wish to connect to SharePoint to. 

Enter the password that belongs to the user account used in the connection string into the Password field. Save your changes by using the right-hand pane option Save Changes.

In the next step, we will configure our mapping settings. Click on the Mappings option on the left-hand pane. If your fields from SharePoint are named identical to the fields from your source system, the Enable Auto Mapping option will match those columns. Disabling this option allows you to match your columns as needed. We enabled auto-mapping in our setup. Save your changes by using the right-hand pane option Save Changes.

2.4. Running your connection

To run your connection switch back to the main connection configuration node and use the Run Now Button located on the bottom of the setup page. The Run Synchronization Toolbox will also display the synchronization process. 

Below is a data preview of the information we have accessed in our source entity:

This will be the result in our SharePoint Online list after our initial successful synchronization:

If you want to use a bi-directional synchronization, you can now switch your connection direction after our first initial synchronization run finished successfully. See section 3.1 for further information.

3. Hints and known issues

If you get the error "Syntax error in INSERT INTO statement", please make sure that your fields name does not contains any empty spaces e.g. "Display Name". 

3.1. Connection direction

As far as tested, this connection supports uni-directional as well as bi-directional synchronizations. 

After adjusting the direction to bi-directional, you should check your Mappings settings again because some systems might include read-only columns that cannot be mapped directly.

We also recommend to choose a Conflict Resolution that matches your environments needs. You can find out more about the different conflict resolutions in our Layer2 Cloud Connector User Documentation.

3.2 Accessing shared files 

In many cases, a local account is used for the Layer2 Cloud Connector Windows Service with no access to attached file shares. You can change, if required to access Access databases not only locally, but also on file shares. if you have any issues, please start with a file on a local disk and go step-by-step.

3.3 Verification failed

If you get something like: "Verification failed: The 'Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0'-Provider is not registered on the local computer." please check the architecture in which Layer2 Cloud Connector is running (32-bit / 64-Bit). You can change this in the Layer2 Cloud Connector general settings (root node of the connection's tree). For example, if you have installed the 32-bit version of the Access data provider on a 64-bit machine (as required if you have a 32-bit Office Word, Excel, etc. running there, just switch Layer2 Cloud Connector from 64-bit (default) to x86/32-bit. Don't forget to restart the Layer2 Cloud Connector after applying your changes.

↑Top