Converting Microsoft® Access Databases

How to convert Access databases of the .mdb file format to the 2013, 2016, 2019 and Access for Microsoft 365 .accdb format.

For my observations on the conversions of specific databases, please follow these links:

Last updated by David Wallis on 2024-04-29.

Background to the Versions of Access

Microsoft is encouraging you to migrate all Office applications to Microsoft 365.

Rumours about the demise of Access have been about for years, but it's still there in Microsoft 365.

Illustration of all Microsoft Access versions

Mainstream support for Access 2016 ends in October 2020. Extended support will continue until 2025.

Mainstream support for Access 2013 ended in 2018. Extended support will end in 2023.

Mainstream support for Access 2010 ended in 2015, with extended support ending in October 2020. Hence there no support from Microsoft and no security updates or fixes.

2017 marked the very end of support for Access 2007.

2014 marked the very end to Microsoft's support for Access 2003.

Support for Access 2002 finally ended years ago.

For Access 2000, years ago.

Access 97 support ended years ago.

Support for Access 95 ended in about 1995.

Potential Security and Confidentiality Issues

Any database that has not been created using Access 2010 or later, or has not been converted accordingly, has become a potential security risk.

Such a risk represents a failure to meet the requirements of certain auditing bodies — anything that relates to the Data Protection Act, for example (with the possible consequence of withdrawal or suspension of certification).

Microsoft recommends migration to the current version of Access before the end of their support period.

Converting Databases to Access 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019 or Access for Microsoft 365

Access 2010 will recognise Access 2007 databases and provide for their conversion. Access 2013, 2016 and 2019 may not; but they'll recognise Access 2010 conversions.

So, if you need them there are stepping stones to bringing pre-Access 2010 databases up to Access 2013, 2016, 2019 or Access for Microsoft 365.

If Access 2013, 2016, 2019 or Access for Microsoft 365 won't recognise your .mdb, a first possible conversion route from .mdb-type to .accdb-type database is this:

.mdb ⇝ MSA 2007 ⇝ .accdb ⇝ MSA 2010 ⇈ MSA 2013 … 365.

Clients of mine who attempted conversions themselves reported that the process didn't complete without errors. In a number of cases Access froze during the conversion and refused to budge.

Even if you complete the process, not all conversion errors get logged as part of the process. So you're left not knowing exactly what might have gone wrong with the conversion.

Some clients report errors emerging after they had been using a converted databases for some time.

Menus, Toolbars and Ribbons

Access 97, 2000, 2002(XP) and 2003 had menus and toolbars.

Access 2007 replaced menus and toolbars with the user interface ribbon.

Access 2007 interface ribbon

The ribbon features across Access 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019 and Access for Microsoft 365.

If the database you're intending to convert has custom menus and toolbars, then be prepared to do some reading up on how to accommodate these.

User-Level Security — the MDW File

User-level security provided for permissions to be allocated to users of a database, determining what rights they have to work with or change the Access objects that comprise the database and the data it contains.

For old databases, using the .mdb file format, user-level secuiry could be provided by an accompanying file of the .mdw format.

Access 2007 introduced new file formats — including .accdb — none of which would accommodate user-level security and would not recognise any MDW file.

If the database you want to convert has security applied to it by means of an MDW file, you will need to know the user name and password of the person who has full administrative rights to the database.

Improving Your Database and What You Get From It

If now you're upgrading to Access 2013, 2016, 2019 or Access for Microsoft 365, or short-term to Access 2010, then you may have many ideas about improving it for its users and for gaining more out it in pursuit of improved business performance.

As part of your conversion process you might consider adding beefed up analysis and reporting in order to increase returns from your investment of time and effort input into collecting all the data.

Help Converting Access Macros and VBA Code

There are changes in macro functionality, and in the Access Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) programming language, as you move up through the versions.

Some of these changes are quite major ones. Some offer increased functionality that you may wish to exploit as part of a conversion upgrade.

Access's convert-database feature takes a stab at converting your macros and VBA code.

In my experience, conversions are very far from perfect. In many instances conversion errors result from poor implementation in the original database, something with which a push-button conversion is not going to cope.

Converting Access MDE Files

Check the extension to the name of your database file. Does it take the form DatabaseFileName.mde? If it does, then converting it is difficult.

Ideally, if you can obtain a copy from the developer of the original DatabaseFileName.mdb, then things get easier.

If you're stuck with a database in the form of an MDE file, there are utilities advertised that claim to unlock MDEs. Once unlocked, so the claims go, you can make changes to your MDE.

I've tried one unlocker program that gets mentioned a lot on the web. In those Access 97 and 2003 MDEs that I've “unlocked” using it, the conversion did not go perfectly and none of the VBA code residing in modules became accessible.

There is at least one company on the web advertising specialist MDE to MDB conversion services, including the full recovery of VBA code. If your database is of significant value, then the cost of having an MDE reverse engineered may be worth considering, balancing that cost against the cost of a re-write.

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