Open .accdb in--or convert to--.odb in LibreOffice Base?

users
#1

Hello,

I'd like to do some work on Access databases (.accdb files) but haven't been able to access(!) them using Base (and have no MS OS or MS Office--happily). Is this possible?

Thanks in advance.

#2

Hi,

I'd like to do some work on Access databases (.accdb files) but haven't
been able to access(!) them using Base (and have no MS OS or MS
Office--happily). Is this possible?

1) If at all, Access files can only be opened from LO on Windows, so if
you're not using Windows OS, you will have to find some other way.

2) Subject to point 1, and I'm not entirely certain about this as I
haven't looked in bugzilla recently, but if the .accdb files were made
with Access 2010, then they can not be opened via LO using the ADO
driver, unless you use an ODBC connection instead.

See also :

https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=43187

https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=69832

https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=70236

Judging by the comment in bug 70236, using Apache OpenOffice might be a
better solution.

Alex

#3

Hi,

Hello,

I'd like to do some work on Access databases (.accdb files) but haven't
been able to access(!) them using Base (and have no MS OS or MS
Office--happily). Is this possible?

Some time ago I used the "Microsoft SQL Server Migration Assistant for Access" (http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=42656) together with SQLExpress from MS to get at the data in a MS Access db.

I just needed to get it into calc, but I would think you should be able to access it once the data is in SQLExpress using the ADO adapter, or in worst case you should be able to export it from SQLExpress.

Werner

#4

To assist in migration, also check out this Windows-only, GPL tool :

http://mdbdoc.sourceforge.net/

Alex

#5

Hmm, my last reply is of no use to you if you haven't even got Access
installed, so sorry about that, but it might be useful to others.

Alex

#6

Hi :slight_smile:
I think Alex and Werner are giving good answers but you'll need to find
some way of temporarily borrowing a Windows machine in order to help.

Access is part of the whole vendor lock-in thing that MS seems to do so
well. They don't seem to want to make it easy for people to use other
products to read their stuff as that seems to ensure that people 'have to'
keep buying into their products.

Once people DO start using non-MS alternatives they tend to find it easy to
move between a variety of different programs and tools quite easily. They
also tend to never go back to MS tools because MS tools just aren't as safe
and reliable and don't perform so well either.

So, MS seems to have to create as many blockers as possible to avoid people
just quickly trying out alternatives. They can't seem to compete on
quality or in "fair markets"

However people have been able to migrate their databases out of Access and
into Base.
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#7

There is an extension that should help you. Download it from the LibreOffice Extensions website:
http://extensions.libreoffice.org/extension-center/access2base

About a year ago or so, I downloaded an earlier version and was able to access a Access database with it.

Dan

#8

+1

BTW, This is also why Kexi does not use Windows-only ADO, which (as
many believe) would be another variant of the lock-in.
mdbtools is used exclusively, under the mask.

Ideal solution would be to start and maintain a port of Jackcess to
C/C++ to avoid Java, even greater if this was independent project, not
a part of LO or Kexi.

#9

Hi :slight_smile:
Do you know if the Access database has a lot of Tables and relationships
between the Tables?

If it's just a few Tables then it might be relatively easy to export them
from Access and into a solid back-end such as MySql/MariaDb or better might
be Postgresql. There are tons of other good back-ends out there too.

Base is designed to be the middle section. It connects easily to data
tables held in a wide range of different scenarios. Then Base does the
Queries / Sql logic, calculations and filtering and also does the
relationships between tables. It can do Forms and Reports but it also
allows such Forms and Reports to be created in Writer and Calc.

So, normal users only see familiar interfaces. They don't have to struggle
with unfamiliar tools. They don't have to go on a course to learn all
about all aspects of creating a database just in order to be able to flick
between different records in the database. Annoyingly i think that if you
want users to input new data then they do have to use Forms and Reports
from within Base itself.

Of course Access uses it's own unique version of Sql so you might need to
redo some of the Queries/Sql. Also the Forms and Reports might need to be
redone.

Once you have created such things outside of MS Access then moving between
other products is fairly easy. For example if you started by moving the
Tables into Base itself and used it's own internal back-end then it's
relatively easy to move them to an external back-end some-time in the
future, or between different back-ends. I think there are some fairly
serious problems with Base's internal back-end so i think most experts
would recommend either frequent back-ups or starting off with an external
back-end right from the start.

There is some documentation at;
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Documentation/Publications#LibreOffice_Base_Handbook
and on the Faq
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Faq

Also it might well be worth poking around on the Apache OpenOffice forums
because they have to deal with the same issue too.

Good luck and regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#10

I have just converted an Access data base to LibreBase. The steps I used are:
1.Install virtualbox with windows xp on the Linux box
2. Install MS Access on the virtual box.
3. Set up the virtualbox machine to share a linux directory on home/username/database where username is your linux user
4. Load the MS database file into this directory.
5. From the virtualbox using Access open the database.
6. Export all of the database tables, one by one in MS Excell format. I could not find a way to export forms or reports.
7. From your linux account start Librebase and create a new data base.
8. Using LibreCalc open each of the Excell files. Ensure the column definitions in he spreadsheet are correct, i.e. make sure date columns are formatted as date. I had some problems with date fiels and solved it by formatting the date columms as YYYY-MM-DD.
9. For each spreadsheet select all and copy.
10 Go to your LibreBase and select the Tables creation area. Paste the spreadsheet dataa into the bottom pane. Follow the prompts to create your table. Note if you have any problems import only the table definition first. Ensure it is correct and then import the data to append to the table.
11 Repeat steps 8-10 for each table.

If your access data base uses views or queries you will need to extract the SQL code and use it to import into the LibreBase.

If you do have access to a MSwidows machine the you can load LibreOffice into it, open the MSdata base and create a new database in LibreOffice format. The data base will contain all tables and data. It will convert access views to tables. It will not convert forms or reports.

Either way you will have to recreate views, queries, forms and reports in LIbreBase.

Regards

Peter Goggin

Regards

#11

Tom Davies:

Access is part of the whole vendor lock-in thing that MS seems to do so
well. They don't seem to want to make it easy for people to use other
products to read their stuff

Tom, are you idiot? Ever heard of ADO and ODBC?

However people have been able to migrate their databases out of Access and
into Base.

You cannot 'migrate their databases' into Base, as Access databases
store data and Base ones do not. They are not equivalent.

#12

Dan,

     There is an extension that should help you. Download it from the
LibreOffice Extensions website:
http://extensions.libreoffice.org/extension-center/access2base

This is included by default in official TDF releases of LibreOffice now.

Alex

#13

Thanks Tom,

I think your post states the case very well. Without a Windows machine I suspect this nut is practically impossible to crack. The potential client may have Access and, if so, be willing to export his tables (as text files or whatever)--if so, I should be able to rebuild his bases in Base.

I don't like MS and won't use their products again, but feel I must say I made a good living using Access for years and really appreciated the program--just not the nightmare world of strings attached. I'm really glad to have Base to replace it.

Thanks for your time and attention.

mike

#14

Thanks again Tom, really appreciate it. Using MDB Tools (from the Ubuntu repository) I'm able to get a look at the data but not sure yet about the relationships etc. I'll keep your Postgresql advice in mind.

#15

Hi Dan,

I installed the Access2Base extension and tried it but to no avail. Possibly your Access database was an .mdb rather than an .accdb?

Thanks for your time and attention.

mike

#16

Thanks, Jaroslaw,

Your ideal solution is a bit over my head at this time, but I do appreciate it and will hang onto it for future reference.

Thanks again for your time and attention.

mike

#17

Hi :slight_smile:
You can include comments to various different people in a single email.

I like the DistroWatch method of saying something to the whole mailing-list
in general and then various paragraphs such as

@ Tom, Alex, Werner, Peter, Janoslaw, Dan, etc. Thanks! :slight_smile:

@ Dan. ...

@ Peter. Not had chance to try that yet but thanks. So far just dodging
Windows entirely!

@ whoever ....

I think Peter is onto a winner because he's actually done it the most
recently out of all of us. I haven't managed it at all yet (except by
convincing my boss that we really don't need the crumbling old database at
all nowadays anyway and moved to just a VERY simple csv file instead of
having any database)

I think Jaroslaw wasn't a specific suggestion for this particular case but
more an idea for the whole of LibreOffice to consider for the future.
Really would be better to mention it on the "Discuss" mailing list except
that it's probably difficult to talk about Base there. Bringing it up here
means he does actually reach people interested in and knowledgeable about
Base. We often go off-track on this list and that often helps the person
deal with other stuff or work-out a better work-around.

Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#18

Thanks Tom (and everyone),

I'll keep that in mind for future replies.

Meanwhile, I think I've had enough advice for now and should perhaps mark the thread 'solved' (can someone advise me how to do that)?

To sum up, I'm convinced at this point that working a MS database from Base just isn't practical and that the data need to be exported from the Access db on a Windows machine with Access installed. I had a brilliant suggestion off-line: try the library? Of course. My local library does have MS Office and I should be able to do anything I want with the thing there, including exporting the data for entry at home into a Base db. Duh! (Thanks, Brian!)

Thanks again to everyone for your time and attention.

mike

#19

For those who come later, and are less informed.

Urmas is a well-known troll / MS shill. Most of his comments should be
ignored. But in particular:

Tom Davies:

> However people have been able to migrate their databases out of
> Access and into Base.

You cannot 'migrate their databases' into Base, as Access databases
store data and Base ones do not. They are not equivalent.

Base can use a lot of different databases as backend, but even the
built-in database that Base uses does store data.

That's the entire concept behind a database.