title: Importing vs linking to Excel spreadsheets
body: <p>I currently link to half a dozen Excel spreadsheets, mainly because it's easier/nicer for the users to edit the data in Excel (they've never used Access), and also any changes are reflected immediately, including if a new column is added which is then ready for use by queries straight away.</p>
  
  <p>But is there a performance penalty for linking instead of importing this data? Some of my queries are slow, 1-2 minutes, and sometimes it can take 2-3 minutes just to SAVE a query. How would I set up Access to import a fresh version of these sheets each time the database is opened, and is it worth it?</p>