How to Convert Access Database to MySQL?

Enhanced scalability, cross-platform independence, and cost-effectiveness are the reasons why users choose to convert Access database to MySQL Server database. Also, the efficiency in managing terabytes of data in MySQL Server databases compared to the 2 GB size limitation in handling an Access database is another reason why users move to MySQL from Access.

How to Convert Access Database to MySQL Manually?

Following are the steps to export database records from MS Access to MySQL manually:

• Set up a new ODBC DSN connection if you haven’t configured one.
• In MS Access application, open the database you want to convert.
• On the navigation pane, you will see all the tables in the database. Right-click on a table you wish to export, hover over ‘Export’, and then click ‘ODBC Database’.

• When the ‘Export’ dialog box opens, you will see the name of the table to be exported to MySQL. Click ‘OK’.

• In the ‘Select Data Source’ dialog box, click on the ‘File Data Source’ or ‘Machine Data Source’ tab. Next, double-click the MySQL data source name to which you want to export the table.

Note: If you’ve not configured a “MySQL Connector/ODBC DSN Data Source” on your Windows system, create a new DSN for Connector/ODBC.

• On successful completion of the export process, the following screen will appear.

Note: If the export process fails and you receive an error message “No database selected,” ensure you have selected the database to connect to the Connector/ODBC Data Source Configuration for MySQL. You may need to reconfigure the DSN and choose the MySQL db you need to connect.  

Downsides of the Manual Method

While the manual method to convert Access to MySQL database works, it has certain downsides:

• You must have Microsoft Access and MySQL installed on your system.
• There is no provision to validate the accuracy of data before moving it to MySQL.
• Only supports converting Access db to the target database online.
• You may require technical assistance for the conversion process, particularly for setting up an ODBC DSN connection.
• Can lead to data inconsistency.

A Better Alternative to Convert Access Database to MySQL

You can use a professional Access database to MySQL converter tool, such as Stellar Converter for Database to overcome the downsides of the above-discussed manual conversion procedure. Here are some benefits of using the software:

• No need to install the source database (in our case MS Access) on the system.
• Previews the data to be converted into the destination file format, allowing you to verify the data before saving it.
• Can convert Access database to MySQL online or offline.
• No technical support is required to perform the conversion.
• Preserves the data integrity.

Further, the database converter tool helps convert a single table or complete Access database to MySQL file format. It allows interconversion of database files, including MS SQL (.mdf), MySQL, Access (.mdb and .accdb), SQLite (.db and .sqlite), and SQL Anywhere (.db).

Steps to Convert Access Database into MySQL with Stellar Converter for Database

• Download Stellar Converter for Database software from here.

• Install and launch the software. A ‘Select Database’ window appears with ‘MS Access’ as the Source Database.

• On the ‘Select Database’ window, choose a ‘Database State,’ and then browse the Access database (.mdb or .accdb) file you wish to convert. After selecting the file to convert, click ‘Scan.’

Note: If you’re not aware of the location of your Access db file you want to convert, click ‘Search’ to locate the file.

• Click ‘OK’ when a ‘Scanning complete’ message box pops-up.

• A preview window opens with a list of Access db tables to convert to MySQL db file format. Click on a table to view its data in the right pane of the preview window.

• Select all or specific Access db tables you want to convert from the preview window and then click ‘Convert’ from the ‘File’ menu.
• In ‘Convert and Save Database’ dialog box, select ‘MySQL’ from the database type drop-down list. Enter details to connect to the MySQL Server instance to which you want to convert the chosen Access database records. Click ‘Save.’

• You will get a message on successful completion of the database conversion process.

The selected database records of your Access database will get converted to MySQL.

Conclusion

In this blog, we’ve discussed the step-by-step process to convert Access database to MySQL manually. However, the manual process has certain limitations. It is time-consuming, as it only allows exporting a single table from the Access db to MySQL. Also, it may cause data damage. A better solution is to use a specialized Access database to MySQL converter tool, such as Stellar Converter for Database that helps perform the conversion quickly and without any data loss.  

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About The Author

Charanjeet Kaur

Charanjeet is a Technical Content Writer at Stellar®who specializes in writing about databases, e-mail recovery, and e-mail migration solutions. She loves researching and developing content that helps database administrators, organizations and novices to fix multiple problems related to MS SQL and MySQL databases and Microsoft Exchange.