Data source files created in Word

[Circe]

Are they now associated with an mdb file extension and
cannot be opened in Word?

 

[Jezebel]

Data source files *created* in Word are Word documents. MDB files are
databases, eg created by Access. Word can *use* data from an MDB file as a
data source, but you can't create an MDB file in Word, nor can you open an
MDB file with Word other than as a data source.

 

[Bob S]

Are they now associated with an mdb file extension and
cannot be opened in Word?

In Word 2002, if you type the data source material into the "create
data source" form instead of specifying an existing document as the
data source, Word will indeed create an MDB file.

To recover the data without using Access, create a mail merge document
containing just the fields of your data source separated by Tab
characters. Use a "directory" (a.k.a. "catalog") merge not a letter or
label merge. Specify the MDB file as the data source.

This should produce a listing of your file, in a format that is
convenient for converting to a Word table.

Bob S