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Open Office ooBase (database) Tutorials
Moving a Microsoft Access database to OpenOffice's Base

You may find that the database being shipped with OpenOffice (ver.2 and higher) delights you as much as it has me. This page tries to help you use it.

Forget anything you may have heard about Adabas, which came with Star Office, the commercial version of Open Office 1. The current Open Office's database, "Base", aka "ooBase", is unrelated. And remember that Open Office, including ooBase, is free! But don't let that fool you. And it's not new. Big organizations, government and civilian, are adopting it as their standard office suite... and saving million$, but still Getting The Job Done.

There's more about ooBase in the main index to this material.

This page is "browser friendly". Make your browser window as wide as you want it. The text will flow nicely for you. It is easier to read in a narrow window. With most browsers, pressing plus, minus or zero while the control key (ctrl) is held down will change the texts size. (Enlarge, reduce, restore to default, respectively.) (This is more fully explained, and there's another tip, at my Power Browsing page.)

Page contents © TK Boyd, Sheepdog Software ®, 10/11


Introduction

This "tutorial".. a mere note, so far!... addresses the issues of moving data from a Microsoft Access database to an OpenOffice Base database. I've written notes elsewhere about general tricks for moving data, e.g. the one about How to move data between Open Office applications and How to use CSV to export data from an Open Office application for use in an external application.

This note may one day grow into something more substantial. From my web site traffic figures, I know that my old page, with several things like this all in one place, was popular... I just don't know if this particular topic was important to my readers... hence this splitting up of the page. A quick note from you would be very welcome... you don't need to give me your email address; there's a simple little form for your convenience.

You may find that you don't need to export data from the RDMS RDBMS it is in at the moment. ooBase can, up to a point, work with data within other RDBMSs... but in the long run, you are going to encounter fewer hassles if you bite the bullet and rebuild your database, in ooBase.

The focus of this page: Moving from Microsoft's database, "Access"

You may come across things that tell you that ooBase can "read Access databases". True. But don't get all excited. All you can do is read the tables. The Access forms, queries and reports will not work via ooBase. Given that you have to re-write those, anyway, I would be inclined to move everything to ooBase, and have a "tidy" database... not some complex chimera.

I wish I could tell you how to move everything... tables, forms, queries, report scripts... from Access over to ooBase. Sadly, I don't believe that is possible. I can offer is a way to take tables (one at a time) from Access, and move them into ooBase tables. At least you don't have to re-type all of the underlying data!

The plan is simple... as is doing it.

Here is the general answer to moving data between packages. It will work with many RDBMS packages. There may be a way to go more directly from Access tables to ooBase tables. If there seems to be interest in that question, I'll see what I can find out for you... I don't use Access myself... Paradox is my legacy RDBMS package.

The general plan is...

You need to have a working copy Access, or other RDBMS, as the first step is completed within that.

The details of the subsequent steps are explained in my general tutorial on importing data to ooBase.

Other pages_________________

This is one of at least four pages discussing CSV files in my ooBase tutorials. In this page, you were shown how CSV files could be used to import data from external, non OpenOffice applications.

... and of course there's also the site's main menu!



Editorial Philosophy

I dislike 'fancy' websites with more concern for a flashy appearance than for good content. For a pretty picture, I can go to an art gallery. Of course, an attractive site WITH content deserves praise... as long as that pretty face doesn't cost download time. In any case....

I am trying to present this material in a format which makes it easy for you to USE it. There are two aspects to that: The way it is split up, and the way it is posted. See the main index to this material for more information about the way it is split up, and the way it is posted.


Ad from page's editor: Yes.. I do enjoy compiling these things for you... I hope they are helpful. However.. this doesn't pay my bills!!! If you find this stuff useful, (and you run an MS-DOS or Windows PC) please visit my freeware and shareware page, download something, and circulate it for me? Links on your page to this page would also be appreciated!

PLEASE >>> Click here to visit editor's Sheepdog Software (tm) freeware, shareware pages <<< PLEASE


If you liked this ooBase tutorial, see the main index for information other help from the same author.

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