Last updated on October 30th, 2023 at 07:10 am
Perhaps you have a collection of old MDB files and want to investigate their contents. However, you also don’t have Microsoft Access configured on your PC. Don’t be concerned! This page is for people who prefer to read their MDB files without ever using MS Access. Let’s continue reading.
Before opening an MDB file, you must have knowledge of MDB files and their uses. It also increases your general knowledge.
What is an MDB file, and why is it vital?
The MDB file format indicates that the document is a Microsoft Access Database document, which stands for Microsoft Database. This is the default database file format in MS Access 2003 and older versions.
Related Blog: MS Access Database Recovery Tool to Repair Corrupt MDB Files
MDB files include database questions, charts, and other information that is being used to link to and store information from many other documents and functions such as XML and HTML.
Although your MDB file isn’t related to Microsoft Access, it may be an Avid Multimedia Databases file, which keeps track of the file formats used in an Avid video processing session.
The requirement for downloading or utilizing the Microsoft Access platform has dramatically decreased as numerous email servers and clients, such as Microsoft Outlook, Notes, and online email servers such as Office 365, accept incoming emails.
Users may still want details or data from outdated database files or from a user who is still utilizing this platform. So, if you’re looking for a way to access MDB files without having MS Access installed on your computer, we’ve got a few free solutions for you.
How Can You Open an MDB File for Free?
As you are seeking some free methods, generally there are multiple ways. Almost every method is effective and safe to use. But it needs some technical experience. Follow the below steps.
Use Notepad to Open MDB Files
Several MDB files are text-only, while others contain a significant chunk of text that may be seen in Notepad. To open your MDB file, just right-click on it, choose “Open with feature,” and then hand-pick Notepad.
This technique of opening MDB files with a text editor such as Notepad is only a test since it is possible that users will be unable to see text properly or that the output on Notepad will be too jumbled to distinguish any type of day. If your MDB file is text-only, it’s just rotten timing.
Related Software: Repair Corrupt MS Access Database Files
Use an Online Platform (a Website)
In this matter, “mdbopener.com” can greatly assist you. Generally, mdbopener.com is a web service or site that allows people to see their MDB or ACCDB file information using the built-in viewer without having to install the Microsoft Access program. Viewers only need an internet connection and an internet browser to visit www.mdbopener.com, then select the MDB file from the system directory and select the Start feature. It will give its consumers a glimpse of the MDB data once some time has passed. It also allows you to export data from MDB or ACCDB files to CSV or Excel (XLS) files.
As previously stated, this approach needs web access and is limited to documents of up to 25 MB in size. As a result, this approach cannot be used to examine data from large files.
To open MDB files, use Microsoft Excel
If you don’t have MS Access, Microsoft Excel is just another platform that you may use to open MDB files for free. You must import the MDB or ACCDB file into your Excel program for this to work, and the information is displayed inside this worksheet in the Excel file format. Follow these instructions to load an MDB file.
- Launch your Microsoft Excel program.
- Go to the Data section and, under the Obtain External Data section, select the Access Database feature.
- Navigate to your MDB file on the system and click View.
- Choose the table and add it to the Excel spreadsheet for viewing. Click the OK button.
- The necessary data is imported and shown on the sheet.
- The data from the MDB file is now saved in the.XLS or.XLSX formats.
Use Microsoft Visual Studio to open MDB files
Microsoft Visual Studio is an Integrated Development Environment supplied by Microsoft for the development of different computer software such as websites, online services, and web apps. It is mostly used by programmers to write code in programming languages such as C, C++, PHP, JavaScript, and others.
Users can also use this tool to access a variety of resources. Microsoft Access is one of the databases that it accepts. You may link to an external database from Visual Studio by either giving connection information or utilizing the Access database file (.mdb file). Even so, that’s what we’re searching for.Therefore simply move forward and let it go.
Related Post: How to Repair Corrupt MS Access Database File
After applying all the methods, there is a huge chance that you will definitely be able to open MDB files. But if you still can’t, then the best option for you is to use an automated software or tool.
Besides, if you don’t have much experience, then using a tool is the best option for you. Generally, it can be paid or free. You can easily search on Google and get the information.