So, your client has given you an MDB File and you are trying to figure out how to Open MDB File. We got your back as in this article, we are going to give you some ways to open MDB file.
What is MDB File?
MDB or Microsoft Access DataBase is a file type with an extension â.mbdâ. It is an MS Access file format. Many people are not aware of this as it was used in MS Access version 2003 and earlier, but now it has been scrapped, and now ACCDB format.
Tables, DataBase Queries, and many other such things such as texts can be found in the MDB file. This can be used to link and/or store other format files such as HTML or XML.
MDB Files are not very common, therefore, many people try to find ways to open and access the file. It is not very difficult to open an MDB File as we are going to prove that in this article by giving you some effortless ways to do that.
Best Ways To Open MDB File
Here are eight ways by which you can open MDB file. We have some temporary solutions as well as some permanent ways by which you can access the MDB file.Â
1. Use Microsoft Access
The easiest choice would be to use Microsoft Access but there is a catch here. If you are an older version of MS Office, the chances are your software package does not consist of Microsoft Access.
However, nowadays, Microsoft sells subscription package of their MS Office 365 that you can buy from their website. The best part about the subscription package is that even the most basic that is the most affordable package have MS Access.
You can get them for less than $10 a month and enjoy access to files such as .mdb and many more with different software such as MS Access, Excel, etc.
2. Use MDB Viewer tools
MDB Viewer tool (Download Here) is one of the easiest ways to open an MBD File. It is easy and free to use and download respectively.Â
It is a freeware that can be installed on your computer and then can be used to view an MBD file.Â
It doesnât only provide you the option to view the MBD file but also to do meaningful twitching such as sorting or filtering.
The only problem with this is that it is not cross-platform software, therefore, you may want to opt for some other software on this list to work on your MAC or Linux computer.
To open a .mdb file using the MDB Viewer you need to follow the prescribed instructions:-
Step 1: After downloading and installing the application from the given link. Launch it by either searching it out of the start menu or from the desktop shortcut(if you have created it during the installation process).
Step 2: Click Open from the right side of the toolbar.
Step 3: Now, click on the three horizontal lines from the appeared, navigate and choose the .mbd file that you want to open, and then click OK.
This will scan and then open the MBD file for you.
3. Use âMDB/ACCDB Viewerâ For Mac
MBD Viewer tool discussed earlier is a perfect free tool for Windows Operating System but if you are a MAC user then you can use the âMDB/ACCDB Viewerâ to do just that.
It can convert your file with a .mdb extension to pretty much any file such as Excell, SQL. This file can then be accessed with this app.
Even though this is a basic application but can do some meaningful features such as support for MBD, ACCDB, MDE, and ACCDE. With this, you can view, search, and export your data.
It is a small app that should be on your MAC.
To download it from the Mac App Store
4. Do it online
With the advancement in the Internet, we are moving fast towards the future where we can do almost all the work on the cloud. But for now, we have a tool by which you can open MDB file.
There are dozens of sites where you can find an mbd opener. But we have discovered MDB Opener for you. You do not need to download any software to use this.
To do that, you need to follow the prescribed steps:-
Step 1: Click here to get redirected to the online MBD opener.
Step 2: Either paste the URL or choose the file saved on your computer by clicking on the âchoose fileâ button.
Step 3: Find the .mbd file and open it.
Step 4: Finally, click Start to view the file.
Editing is not possible but you can change the file type to CSV or Excell and then download it on your computer.
But, there is something worth noting here. Most of the online viewers are not secure and exposing sensitive documents to them is not the best option. Therefore, if your document contains some personal information such as your bank details then using the online source is not the most clever option.
This is not the permanent solution this is recommended if you donât have your computer and you have to access the file.
5. By Third-party MBD Viewer
Another way by which you can view your MBD file is with the help of a third-party MBD Viewer. There are a ton of third-party MBD Viewers but the best one for you would be MBD Viewer Plus.
Unlike MS Access, one can use the software for free, and since it is a portable app, you donât need to install it on your computer.
Unlike its online counterpart, that is the âMBD Openerâ, one can edit the file with it.Â
The problem with this application is that it needs some core database features present in Windows. Therefore, it wonât work on other operating systems.
You can even create a shortcut on your desktop to get redirected to this MBD viewer every time you click on it.
6. Use a text-editor
Well! This may come as a surprise to you but you can view your .mdb file with the help of a simple text editor sometimes. âSometimesâ is the keyword here. If your MDB file only contains text then only you will be able to view your text editor.
We wonât recommend you doing this for important files but if there is a file that you need to quickly view then use a text editor such as Notepad. You wonât be able to view the table or any things but can read the texts and get the crux of what the file is about.
To do that just go to the file, right-click on it, select open with, and click Notepad.
7. Use MS Excel
Just like text-editor, MS Excell will not provide you the whole information as there are somethings that you wonât be able to see.
So, we are going to import using excel. To do that, you need to follow the prescribed steps:-
Step 1: Launch MS Excel.
Step 2: From the appeared window, go to the Data tab, and then click Access Data(from Get External Data) or From Access depending on your version.
Step 3: Navigate and select the file that is stored internally and then click Open.Â
This will import your file in Excell format that you can then edit.
This is still not the best option as it requires you to need to buy MS Excell and still, you wonât be able to view every single piece of information.
7. Use Microsoft Visual Studio
Integrated Development Environment or IDE is what allows a windows computer to develop applications such as web services, webpages, web applications, and Microsoft Visual Studio is an IDE.
Even though, this tool is generally used by developers to use programming languages such as C, C++, Java, Python, etc. But it connects with many databases and one of them is MS Access.
With this, you can connect with the MS Access database by using the Access database file, which includes both .mbd and .accdb files.
This does not provide a wide range of options but it still is effective if you are not looking to do a ton of customization in the existing file.
8. Use MBD Viewer Softwares
Last but certainly not least, you can use download one of many MBD viewer software in the market.Â
Even though MBD was introduced in Microsoft Access but after that, there are many developers who have developed apps to access files with this extension.
There are many applications on the internet but we found some of the best for you. The best part about them is that most of them are open source and you can download them for free.
Oxygen Professional Base:-
The first on our list is an open-source that can be download for free to open MDB files. Just like MS Office, you can download the full package by clicking here.
You can use them just like as you would MS Access.
To download Oxygen Professional Base click here
Libre Office:-
Libre Office is one of the most popular alternatives to MS Office. But the best part about them is that they are free to use.Â
You can use them to not only view but edit your mbd file. This is a cross-platform software that can be used in both Windows, Mac, and Linux.Â
Libre Office is available on smartphones with Android and iOS operating systems as well.
To download Libre Office for Linux
To download Libre Office for MAC
To download Libre Office for Windows
Kexi:-
Last but not least we have Kexi, it is a simple but effective tool that you can install on your computer for free and use to open a .mbd file.
It is a cross-platform software that works on both Windows and Linux.
Wrap-up:-
In this article, we have seen some of the ways by which you can open MDB file. A simple solution would be to open it using MS Access but not all of us can afford to buy MS Office 365 subscription. Therefore, we have 7 alternate methods to open MDB file. Hopefully, this article helped you.
