If for various reasons he MUST use a text file, that's not a problem. Access can treat it as a table if you do the following: File, Get external data, link tables Find the text file (he should have created a dummy one already, with a header row!!) and answer a few questions about its structure. He needs to identify field types as well. The best format is comma separated csv. This appears as a table in Access but with an arrow beside it denoting the link. Any changes to the table will be made to the original file automatically. You can do anything you want in forms, queries that you'd do to a normal table. No VB required at all, and the import's dynamic not static. Is this what he needs to do? Warning - the text file driver is fairly slow - so expect Access to be less responsive when accessing this file. (As indeed it is with most linked files). PS I tried mailing your school address and got this: Your message has encountered delivery problems to the following recipient(s): ptaylor@westwood-st-thomas.wilts.sch.uk Delivery failed Unable to deliver to destination domain Can't interpret host name, or non-existant host -- ******************************************************************************** All mail sent and received may be examined to prevent transmission of inappropriate attachments and certain obscenities. Wellington College does not accept responsibility for email contents. Problems to postmaster@wellington-college.berks.sch.uk. ********************************************************************************