Convert Access to MySQL.

DBConvert & DBSync for Access and MySQL is a cross-database migration software for data conversion and synchronization between Microsoft Access (.MDB or .ACCDB) and MySQL databases.

Why convert Microsoft Access database to MySQL?

Scaling MS Access databases to an enterprise-level is often demanded when there are not enough Access database engine capabilities.

Converting Access to MySQL is one of the most popular ways to upsize an old Access Database.

  1. Probably the essential reason to migrate Access data is to share it with others on the web.
  2. The total size for an Access database is limited to about 2 Gb. Server databases routinely manage terabytes of data efficiently.
  3. Microsoft Access is available for Windows PC only. Moving data from Access to MySQL opens an opportunity to share data between different platforms as MySQL historically is cross-platformed. It runs on most platforms, including UNIX, Linux, Windows, and macOS.

How to migrate Access to MySQL?

The following methods are quite suitable for this:

The old-fashioned manual way of database exporting from Access to MySQL:

  1. Create your table structure on MySQL side: 
    CREATE TABLE `foo`(`myid` INT, `mytext` VARCHAR(255), 
`mydecimal` DECIMAL(8,4));
  2. Save data from each table into a separate text file using the Microsoft Access export feature.
    1 Use these interesting 6.25
    2 fun facts to learn 32.8
    3 something new today. 4.76

  3. Each text file can be imported into a MySQL database using LOAD DATA statement.

    LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE '/tmp/foo.txt'
INTO TABLE foo FIELDS TERMINATED BY '\t';

    The rows get inserted:

    Query OK, 3 rows affected (0.00 sec)
Records: 3 
Deleted: 0 
Skipped: 0 
Warnings:0

    Optionally you can use mysqlimport command-line utility.

  4. Check the inserted records:

    mysql> select * from foo;
+------+----------------------+-----------+
| myid | mytext               | mydecimal |
+------+----------------------+-----------+
|    1 | Use these interesting|    6.2500 |
|    2 | fun facts to learn   |    32.8000|
|    3 | something new today. |    4.7600 |
+------+----------------------+-----------+
3 rows in set (0.00 sec)

This is the most difficult and time consuming method of importing data to MySQL from Access.

Using ODBC connection from Access to MySQL.

Follow the quick steps listed here:

  1. Configure a new ODBC DSN connection if it doesn't already exist (refer to this manual)

  2. Inside Access database, click on the table you like to export, click on the file menu, then go to export and enter the name for the exported table.

    Access: Export ODBC Database Menu Selected

  3. Select the ODBC connection you just created or choose the existing one from the list.

MS Access will connect to a MySQL server and export the data from a specified table to the target MySQL database.

Go here for a detailed manual.

While both of the above methods work, we can suggest a better solution.

DBConvert and DBSync software automate the process of data migration from Access to MySQL and reduce manual work.

Why use DBConvert software?

Our converters are designed to migrate and synchronize large and complex databases. Data can be migrated between local and remote databases as:

  • MS Access (.MDB or .ACCDB)
  • MySQL
  • MariaDB
  • Percona
  • Amazon RDS | Aurora
  • Google Cloud SQL
  • Azure Database for MySQL

Queries conversion from Access to MySQL, MariaDB, and Percona views is available.

The software migrates indexes and relationships between tables, supports Unicode.

Many more useful options and features allow you to customize the conversion process and make it easier to get the preferred result.

Insert, Update, and Drop synchronization types give a strong consistency between Source and Target databases.

Supported databases:
  • Microsoft Access
  • MySQL
  • MariaDB
  • SingleStore DB (formerly MemSQL)
  • TiDB
  • Percona Server for MySQL
  • Vitess
  • Queries from Access → MySQL views migration
  • Amazon RDS
  • Amazon Aurora
  • Google Cloud
  • Azure Database for MySQL
  • MySQL Dump
  • PHP Script
 DBConvert for Access & MySQL

Version: 8.4.2

Release Date: Oct. 17, 2022

 Download 49.6 MB  Order from US$ 179
 DBSync for Access & MySQL

Version: 6.8.6

Release Date: Feb. 22, 2023

 Download 49.2 MB  Order from US$ 179

Try All-in-one DB migration and Sync software.

DBConvert Studio

 Version: 3.4.0

Release Date: May 17, 2023

Supported databases:

  • SQL Server
  • MySQL
  • MariaDB
  • Percona
  • Oracle
  • PostgreSQL
  • Access
  • FoxPro
  • SQLite
  • Interbase
  • Firebird
  • IBM DB2
  • MS Azure SQL
  • Amazon RDS
  • Amazon Aurora
  • Heroku Postgres
  • Google Cloud
  About Studio   Download 120.0 MB      Order from US$ 599

Using Access to MySQL conversion and synchronization tools.

When you start DBConvert or DBSync application in GUI mode it guides you through several steps to set up the database migration or synchronization:

1. Connect to Access source database.

If a source database requires you to log in, you can specify a user name/ password and host/ port parameters.

Connect to Access source database from DBConvert

2. Connect to MySQL destination database.

Specifying parameters for destination database looks like the same as for source. Usually, it consists of defining connection settings and username/password pairs.

Connect to MySQL target database from DBConvert

NOTE #1: Every DBConvert or DBSync tool has two different databases in its name. That means any specified database from a pair can be set up as a source or destination. Besides, the same type of database may be set up both as a source or destination.

As an example, here is the list of possible migration directions with on-premises databases:

  • Access to MySQL
  • MySQL to Access
  • Access to Access
  • MySQL to MySQL

NOTE #2: Don't be confused by the fact that connections to cloud databases like Amazon RDS, Google Cloud, and Heroku are not explicitly specified in the configuration of a source or destination in the DBConvert / DBSync interface. To connect to Cloud database instances, use the same settings as you do for traditional on-premises databases.

NOTE #3: Your connections to source and target databases stay active until you close DBConvert/ DBSync application or reopen new connections on "source" and "destination" steps.

Read more about the specific source/ destination configurations for different databases.

3. Configure database migration options.

At the next step, you can specify precisely which tables, fields, indices, views you want to transfer to the MySQL destination database. Just check/ uncheck the box in front of each database object you want to convert.

Customize general database/ tables settings. Or set up a particular table , field, index individually when migrating data from Access to MySQL.

Check out our articles about Configure database migration options. for detailed information.

The screenshot below sums up general features available in DBConvert software solutions.

DBConvert screenshot
  1. Workaround for firewalls and access rights
  2. Views translation
  3. Flexible customization for all db elements
  4. Bulk Insert and Quantization options for speed-up processing of big volume of data
  5. Conditional data migration. Data Filters.
  6. Full UNICODE architecture support
  7. Data mapping
  8. Proactive detection of potential data migration issues
  9. Command line mode. Scheduling
  10. Savable sessions

4. Detection of potential database migration issues. Errors and Warnings

The database typically constrains certain relations on the data that cannot be violated. On the customization step, a smart error checker verifies all possible Data integrity and Referential integrity issues and highlights them, if any, before performing a migration.

By default, DBConvert tries to automatically map the database types of the source Access database to the closest equivalent of the target MySQL database types. However, you can manually change the data types for the entire database globally using the "Global mapping" or individually for each field.

Check out Smart error checker. Errors and Warnings for more information.

5. Execution. The final stage of data migration from Access to MySQL

Once you configure source and destination databases for migration in the previous steps, you can start the actual conversion or synchronization process.

Click the "Commit" button to start conversion. Also, here, you can monitor the migtation/ synchronization process.

Optionally save connection settings and configuration parameters into the session file to schedule the launching of sync or migration jobs regularly.

Execution step of DBConvert products

Read more about execution stage available options.

Command line mode

Previously saved sessions can be passed as parameters to Command-Line DBConvert Client. A session keeps Access source and MySQL target database connection settings with other specified options.

Example: C:\Program Files\DBConvert\access2mysqlPro\access2mysqlPro_Cons.exe /Session:"Session_Name"

NOTE: First, you have to run the software in GUI mode to create a session file with initial parameters.

Built-in scheduler.

Our applications come with a built-in scheduler to run database migration and sync jobs at specified times. Just set the scheduled date and time to execute job sessions automatically.

Find more Information about built-in scheduler

DBConvert screenshot

Supported OS:

Requirements

  • Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 x86 Redistributable package
  • Necessary privileges to write into database on the target MySQL server (this requirement is optional as there is an option to overcome the restrictions using dump file or PHP Script)
  • Access 2000 or higher. Both Access 32/64 versions are supported

Related Links

Highlights

Read information about reverse migration.

MySQL to Access