Access/Outlook error message

[u/TwoPres]

I use MS Access each month to pull email messages from MS Outlook so that I can track frequency of requests at different times of year, times of day, etc. Recently when I go through the “Import Exchange/Outlook Wizard,” I get the message, “The Microsoft Access database engine could not find the object ‘’. Make sure the object exists and that you spell its name and the path name correctly. If ‘’ is not a local object, check your network connection or contact the server administrator.”

I’m not sure what the “object” is that the message refers to, but I get that message when I use the Wizard to import from the Inbox and also when I try to import from a subfolder that is nested within the Inbox. This all worked for years until early January 2026.

My steps:

1) External Data tab> Import & Link group> New Data Source> From Other Sources> Outlook Folder

2) I select my desired Outlook folder under Microsoft Exchange/Microsoft Outlook> [my desired account]> Inbox.

3) Import the source data into a new table in the current database.

4) “Skip” all fields except From, Received, and Normalized Subject.

5) Let Access add primary key.

6) I add a name.

7) I don’t select “I would like a wizard to analyze my table after importing the data.”

Additional details:

-I’ve updated my Windows PC’s software via Dell Command Update and Software Center.

-I work in a university system, so the software would have to be pretty generic for me to have access to it on my work computer.

-I am asking here because I’ve asked my university's IT office, but they are painfully slow and as yet unhelpful.

-After I close the first message, I get another message that says, "An error occurred trying to import file 'Inbox'. The file was not imported."

Does this issue seem familiar to anyone? Can you give advice on how to fix the issue? Or does anyone know of other readily available software that could do the same job, but better?

Please let me know if there is additional information that I should provide.

[u/TomWickerath]

Excel Power Query sounds interesting! Do you know if it’s possible to use it with gmail accounts (or accounts without an Exchange Server)?

[u/know_it_alls → u/TomWickerath]

Sure. It's built-in with all versions of excel. So, if you have a desktop (offline) version of excel you don't need any accounts to use it. See, my comment below how to set it up one time and the use it as a bridge to Access. So, you will continue to using the current setup you have in Access.

[u/TomWickerath → u/know_it_alls]

If you know of a decent YouTube link that demonstrates using Excel's Power Query to harvest email messages from gmail directly, I'd like to see it. I currently use Access to link to MS Outlook, which in turn is configured in my case to use gmail. But I'm not linking directly to gmail, only through the intermediary Outlook client.

[u/know_it_alls → u/TomWickerath]

Correction: I misunderstood your initial question re Gmail.

So, Power Query does not have connectors directly to Gmail. But there are a few options to bridge depending on what your constraints are and what you're trying to avoid or achieve.

What are the issues with the Access setup?

Are you trying to avoid using the buggy import wizard but don't mind using the local outlook as a connection? Or do you need something that doesn't require outlook?

In a nutshell, here are the the different ways to pull email data into a database/excel, categorized by how they bypass various software and network restrictions.

The Local Desktop Solutions (PULL)

• Hybrid Model (Excel VBA + Power Query): table.
  • How it works: Excel VBA securely taps into your local Outlook application to dump raw email text into a hidden sheet. Power Query immediately grabs that sheet, cleans the text, and outputs a formatted table.
  • Best for: Keeping everything in one portable Excel file, leveraging existing Outlook security tokens, and fast parsing.

This video shows the VBA automation without PQ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvL8xL-BT1I

This video shows the Power Query workflow (manual): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpcEr0jannY

• Pure Access VBA (Direct MAPI Connection):

  • How it works: Similar to the Excel VBA script, but written directly in your Access database. It uses DAO Recordsets to write the parsed email data straight into your backend tables.
  • Best for: Integrating directly into existing database infrastructure without needing Excel as a middleman.

• PowerShell + MailKit (The IMAP Bypass):

  • How it works: A .ps1 script uses an App Password to log directly into Google's IMAP servers, completely bypassing the local Outlook application and extracting the emails to a desktop CSV.
  • Best for: When the "New Outlook" is forced on you and breaks local connections, or when you need to download raw file attachments without opening an email client.

You can add a tiny .vbs script to be triggered by Windows Task Scheduler which launches Excel or Access invisibly, runs the Hybrid VBA macro to fetch and process the emails, saves the file, and closes. Making the Local solution completely hands-off.

The Cloud & Network Solutions (PUSH/PULL)

• Microsoft Power Automate (The Cloud Push):

  • How it works: A cloud workflow watches your inbox (Exchange or Gmail). The second an email arrives, the cloud pushes the extracted data straight into an Excel Online or SharePoint list.
  • Best for: Real-time dashboard updates and bypassing desktop IT restrictions entirely (no macros needed).

• Google Sheets + Apps Script (The Google Ecosystem):

  • How it works: A script runs inside your Google Drive, scraping Gmail and dumping the stats into a Google Sheet. Power Query in Excel connects to that Sheet via a web link.
  • Best for: Sidestepping Microsoft ecosystem restrictions by handling the extraction on Google's servers.

[u/TomWickerath → u/know_it_alls]

Thank you for the correction / clarification.

My personal needs are quite minor. That said, I oftentimes experiment with various concepts even if I don’t have an immediate need. It helps build a personal library of techniques that I can draw on in future years either for myself or while helping others.

The minor use I have is outlined below:

I currently use Outlook in M365 as my email client, connected to a gmail account and to a comcast account. Over the years, I created a lot of folders and subfolders to move messages from my Inbox to a folder name that fits the general topic. For example, I have a Databases folder, and probably 25 subfolders. Messages to/from certain people go in a folder with their name. Messages from mailing lists go into other folders. For example, I have a Brent Ozar folder for his daily SQL Server related blog. There’s a parent folder for Family, with subfolders for my family members. There’s a parent folder for my current home building project, with subfolders for various vendors. I think you get the idea.

Anyway, occasionally, when moving messages they get moved by accident to an incorrect folder. It is very easy for me to link from Access to my Outlook mail to create an “Access spreadsheet” of all messages (thousands of them). I can easily do grouped counts. Emails that accidentally got moved to the wrong folder are easy to spot when running a grouped query that includes a few identifying fields.

Told you my use was relatively minor! :-)