You should be fine importing them. First off though, AutoNumbers Are NOT For You

If that number is an important identifier for you, you'll want to use an actual number field and something like Automatic Record Numbering or Sequential Numbers

I may be using the wrong terminology. Those 300 members should have a primary key associate with Member ID in a new table called Members, correct? So what is the correct field type for keeping track of records in the members table.? I thought it was autonumber. Thanks for the help.

Sorry I might be making this more advanced then needed, just unsure by the terminology.

Autonumbers are the ideal primary key yes, but if you need them to keep the value they have in your excel file, you'll have to make a field to store that.

For instance if you were storing vehicles and your unique identifier in excel was a VIN number, and you need them to keep that VIN number when you import them, you would need to make that it's own non-autonumber field (in the case of a VIN it would be short text, but usually it's a number).

You then could either make that field the primary key and not have an autonumber system (you would manually assign the values) or you could make a field like AutoID an autonumber field and make that the primary key, then you could create records that don't have the VIN for instance. Either way is fine, the point is if this field is a number that you actually care about, it shouldn't be an autonumber, it should be a manually set value like from that sequential numbers video, it can still be the primary key. If you want John Smith member # 5 from excel to come into access and be member #5, it should be a manual field, if you don't care if he's member #81 and you just want a unique identifier for the primary key, then use the autonumber.

Thanks for the help and the links. I will follow up. there is no numbering field in the xl file I want to import into the new table, MembersT but it will need a unique id of some kind so I can later relate a member to a project team table. Appreciate the insight. I had a reply typed up but it didnt go so this is basically a duplicate. I an a newbie so a little awkward, but the more I dig the smarter I will get. thanks. I sent you tip. that is when I lost my earlier reply.