Running MS Access Programs

Question

I have an old program developed in MS Access and would like to convert it to Kexi somehow. The program on Windows is launched with Access.

Is there any way that Kexi can launch this program? I know my way around Ubuntu and the terminal, but not well versed on databases. Once you make something in Kexi how do you "run" it or "view" what you've made?

So far I am able to import the MDB file into Kexi and see all of the database data, but that is as far I have gone. The program was made by a relative years ago for my dad.

I myself am an Ubuntu only user for 6+ years now and have no intentions to touch Windows and am looking for a linux solution. My dad is also an Ubuntu user, hence why Im looking for a solution.

If Kexi cannot launch and run an MDB file, what else can I try? Anything browser based? Any tips or direction would be extremely helpful.

I spoke to my brother who originally made the program. I told him about Kexi and here is what he said. Does any of this make sense? Thanks.

This is how I would try to get them to work:

1. Stand alone setup - after import, look for an option where you designate which form object you want to open upon startup. It might be in the tools tab in the picture below. After you save that change, it re-start it and it should work.

2. Front end/back end setup - Do what I suggested for the stand alone setup to the > "front-end" MDB file. After you do that, put the other file (table MDB file) where you > want it to reside on the network. Now, open back up the "front end" file and look for > an option that will allow you to "connect" to those tables in the other file. It looks > like it could be in the "External data" tab in the picture below. For this setup, you > may need to do these two tasks in the reverse order I just mentioned.

Thanks!

Fred

Answer 1

Do you have any forms migrated?

According to the FAQ:

Q4.1: Is reading/writing of Microsoft Access .mdb/.mde files available? If so, how feature-rich is this module?

A4.1: Currently, importing table schemas and data is supported using import driver (MS Access data types are carefully mapped to Kexi data types) from .mdb/.mde files. Importing queries, forms, reports and web pages is not yet supported.

So I think not.

Most Access programs contain forms and logic besides database data. Usually opening an Access „program” loads the database and opens automatically a form, so the user can manipulate/query data without dealing with the database structure. (This automatic form refers to your brother's first answer.)

I don't know how accurate is the above information, the Access support might have changed since then.

You can still try to run an old version of Access with Wine or inside a virtual machine (eg. VirtualBox).

Answer 2

I would export the data into a csv file or fixed width in Access, then import and rebuild.