Both the "Autoupdate imported tables on model startup" option and the "Update tables data" button run the "importFromExternalDB()" function from ModelDatabase API (https://anylogic.help/api/com/anylogic/engine/database/ModelDatabase.html#importfromexternaldb). You can also use this function to force data updates at runtime. For a step-by-step guide, check out the Help article: https://anylogic.help/anylogic/connectivity/import.html#access

Usage example: https://www.anylogic.com/blog/importing-data-from-external-database-step-by-step-guide/?sphrase_id=7961888