Section 7.24. Microsoft Access

7.24. Microsoft Access

Microsoft has never been much interested in creating a Macintosh equivalent of its flagship database program (which it includes with the higher-priced versions of Microsoft Office for Windows). FileMaker, a much easier-to-use database program, towers over the Macintosh database market like the Jolly Green Giant (and has a decent following on the Windows side, too). Resistance, Microsoft apparently assumes, is futile.

It's easy enough to get your data out of Microsoft Access; just choose File Export. In the resulting dialog box, you can choose from a number of common export formats that can serve as intermediaries between the Windows and Mac worlds (see Figure 7-1).

Figure 7-1. When you export your data from Access, you can choose from any of several formats. The idea is that you'll transfer the resulting exported file onto your Mac, and then import it into a proper database program there.

Among them is Microsoft Excelthat is, you can turn your database into a spreadsheet. The beauty here is that FileMaker on the Macintosh can turn Excel documents into FileMaker databases without even batting an eye. You just drag the exported Excel document onto the FileMaker icon, and FileMaker does the rest.

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Tip: If you don't need such a full-fledged database program on the Macfor example, if you're just managing a mailing list you've exported from Accessyou might be perfectly happy with AppleWorks, a Swiss Army knife program with a word processor, graphics, and database all built-in. AppleWorks comes with every iMac and iBook computer, and you can equip other Mac models with it for about $80. In this case, you'll want to export your data from Access as a tab-delimited text file, as shown in Figure 7-1.

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Unfortunately, there's more to an Access database than just its data. Your database may well have fancy forms (layouts), complete with letterhead and other graphic elements, not to mention relational links between database files. In these situations, the situation isn't quite so hopefulthere's no way to export layouts and relational links to the Macintosh.

In this situation, your best bet might be to run Microsoft Access itself on the Macintosh using VirtualPC, which is described on Section 7.59.