I used the database wizard to connect to an existing database. I tried first connecting to an Access 2007 file but it threw an error (if anybody has experienced a problem with this please address this problem as well). I then put the data into a spreadsheet and imported from the spreadsheet. This seemed to work fine except that when I go into Base all of my editing options seem grayed out and I can’t edit the field type or add records.
Spreadsheets are read only datasources within the ODB. The only way to update a spreadsheet datasource is to open it up in Calc and edit/resave the changes made there, then re-open the ODB that references the spreadsheet file.
Alternatively, look up the hsqldb documentation (version 1.8) on how to integrate TEXT TABLE sources directly into a hsqldb database (and write to them) - I don’t think you can do this with the embedded hsqldb engine, but you can if your are running hsqldb in server mode, or file mode (what we call a split db).
Do you use a Windows OS? If yes, please have a look at the guide at Connecting to Microsoft Access - Apache OpenOffice Wiki and try whether connecting to Access 2007 file works for you with this guide.
I had described using a csv file as external source in the embedded hsqldb in csvDatentabelle/Extern - Archiv des LibreOffice- und OpenOffice.org-Wiki some time ago. Unfortunately it is in German. But perhaps Google translate is enough to use it.