LibreOffice Base is a great starting point for those considering a free alternative to Microsoft Access. The open source office suite remains a strong pretender to the Microsoft Office crown , and the latest version of LibreOffice, 6. Base remains a great all-rounder, well-suited to both home and business needs.
LibreOffice Base is probably as close as you can get to a direct Microsoft Access clone. Both are front-end database management tools. Calligra Suite is an office and graphic design suite developed by the KDE open source community. Kexi is the Calligra Suite answer to Microsoft Access. Kexi offers a decent mixture of database features: data entry, queries, forms, tables, reports, and more.
Another handy feature for those users looking to make the switch is the Kexi Microsoft Access migration assistant. The wizard helps users migrate databases to the Kexi database framework, persevering data and allowing editing between the applications. Axisbase is slightly different from the other entries in this list in that it offers an entire database solution, with a familiar front-end interface that feels similar to Filemaker, Access or Base, but can also act as a database server like MySQL.
Axisbase isn't the most accessible database program to use. You will use Axisbase "building blocks" to develop your database. A building block is "a data subset, list, graph, window, or report. The best place to get started is the Axisbase Documentation Home. In case it's not obvious from its name, Base is part of the LibreOffice productivity suite, which includes Writer word processing , Calc spreadsheet , Impress presentations , Draw graphics , Charts chart creation , and Math formulas. As such, Base integrates with the other LibreOffice applications, much like Access does with the Microsoft Office suite.
This means you can import and export data from Base into the suite's other applications to create financial reports, mail merges, charts, and more. Built-in wizards and table definitions make it easy for new users to quickly get started building tables, writing queries, and creating forms and reports such as invoices, sales reports, and customer lists.
To learn more, consult the comprehensive user manual and dive into the user forums. If you're still stuck, you can find a certified support professional to help you out. LibreOffice is available under the Mozilla Public License v2 ; if you'd like to join the large contributor community and help improve the software, visit the Get Involved section of LibreOffice's website.
This, plus its spreadsheet-like interface and pre-built wizards, make it a great option for new database users to get going without much background knowledge. Although the application has gone through several name changes—from the original Arca Database Browser to the SQLite Database Browser and finally to the current name in , to avoid confusion with SQLite , it's stayed true to its goal of being easy for users to operate.
Its wizards enable users to easily create and modify database files, tables, indexes, records, etc. Installers are available for Windows, MacOS, and a variety of Linux versions, and its wiki on GitHub offers a wealth of information for users and developers. As the database application in the Calligra Suite productivity software for the KDE desktop, Kexi integrates with the other applications in the suite, including Words word processing , Sheets spreadsheet , Stage presentations , and Plan project management.
Kexi's website says its development was "motivated by the lack of rapid application development RAD tools for database systems that are sufficiently powerful, inexpensive, open standards driven, and portable across many operating systems and hardware platforms. Kexi is available under the LGPL open source license and you can download its source code from its development wiki.
If you'd like to learn more, take a look at its user handbook , forums , and userbase wiki. NuBuilder Forte is designed to be as easy as possible for people to use.
It's a browser-based tool for developing web-based database applications. Its clean interface and low-code tools including support for drag-and-drop allow users to create and use a database quickly. As a fully web-based application, data is accessible anywhere from a browser. Everything is stored in MySQL and can be backed up in one database file.
Help is available in videos and other documentation for topics including creating forms, doing searches, building reports, and more. The program also offers the option of creating reports. PostgreSQL is used as the database format.
Glom is especially suited to smaller databases and projects such as contact lists and product lists, which can be created quickly thanks to the simple means of operation.
Glom and for the most part, Kexi , are more likely to use the database frontend concept, which additionally requires a database management system to be installed or at least collaborated with. This is useful because it solves some common problems associated with classic desktop database systems and provides a stable and multi-user database.
However, the range of functions and the possibilities of the two database management systems are really quite limited, meaning that the two programs are only really suitable for a small number of tasks. The advantage that MS Access has over the free, file-based database management systems is, among other things, the long development period that the program has already undergone as part of the MS Office Suite. Even though only a few new features have been introduced in recent versions, the software has been constantly improved since its release in the early s and any errors encountered have been fixed.
FileMaker is the only fee-based program that has a longer development history than the desktop database management system from Microsoft. It could be that the other programs are right for you; it just depends on your requirements and your operating system. Base from LibreOffice and OpenOffice has the largest range of features out of all the free alternatives to Microsoft Access, followed by Kexi.
On the other hand, Glom has the clearest frontend and is the easiest to use, thanks to its minimalistic layout. The type of software you go for can be dependent on how many user interfaces to other database systems are available or whether full multi-user features are included. The final overview presents all the important features of the three desktop database management systems that have been introduced in this article.
Traditional email is still a big part of online communication for private and for business use, with many users typically opting for Outlook as their email client. But many private users and small businesses often look for Outlook alternatives, since Outlook can often end up being expensive. Dropbox is one of the most famous and most successful cloud storage services available.
Its success is largely due to its many functions and ease of use. There are other file hosting services that offer different approaches. TeamViewer is still the most widely-used solution for remote management and online meetings, but there are numerous alternatives on the market which can be considered. We present some serious alternatives to TeamViewer. When it comes to cloud storage services with synchronization functions, many users see ownCloud as the most reliable option.
It is also worth broadening your perspective, as the best alternatives to ownCloud also offer some other interesting features, which cloud storage service enthusiasts should not miss out on. This article is here to help you find the alternative to ownCloud that is right for With a real estate website, you can set yourself apart from the competition With the right tools, a homepage for tradesmen can be created quickly and legally compliant Why are MS Access alternatives needed?
Still, one can connect and dump the data which is exactly against the security principles. So, decisions, decision, is Access for domestic usage or corporate? I am getting daily questions on how to move Access to the Web. The interest is huge. I contributed to the invention of Information Engineering. I have experience. I started using Access version 1 in and was impressed by how easy it was to use.
I developed the SQL Server back-ends, wrote the stored procedures, etc. You can develop a simple, single-user app, using wizards, to do something useful. You can also develop slightly more complex, multi-user systems by splitting the Access database into two: back-end and front-end. This is where simple VBA usually comes in. Someone in England developed a successful Access version 2 system with simultaneous users. You can make it efficient. SQL Server. I was called in to look at a VB6 system with an Access database.
Response time going from tab to tab on the main data entry form was around 10 minutes. The network was heavily overloaded. Government department with no money to spend on IT. But the problem was the way that the database was used to add a new record. The SQL statement to open the new record read every record in the contact table, over , of them.
That reads every contact into the front-end. That got the response time down from 10 minutes to 5 seconds. One line of code. I changed a few other things and eventually got the response time to around 1 second. There are idiots everywhere. You can do some interesting things with VBA.
I did a fingerprint booking system for a police department a few years ago. The system popped up multiple booking forms so that an operator could see all the machine and ink available spots for a location on one screen, and could enter the new appointment on any of them. That required the booking form to be an object that could be replicated as many times as needed across a screen.
Sort of. Access fits a niche. That niche to me is a rapid development solution. Hey want to proto type a phone app idea for a qucik brainstorm with a developer? Need a certain task done or noted, need some form of database type information stored, sorted or printed? It is basically a digital swiss army knife.
Add tot he fact that you can build a front end for a SQL Backend or other and you unleash any more power. Myself I use Filemaker Pro Advanced and Powershell for my rapid development or tool generation needs but when it comes to small to medium businesses Access is the easiest to purchase, license, and deploy using E3 license and since it is Microsoft, updates, support, and learning curve of ease of use is much easier to adopt than other third party options.
Microsoft knows this. Businesses know this. Microsoft has such a stronghold on this niche that few companies choose to compete head to head.
Access is here for a long time. Now changes they may make? I could see Microsoft adopting more of a C than VB path down the road. I could see Access gaining more updated tools to deal with larger file sizes when using 64bit, better graphics storage, stability improvements, speed improvements in the engine, and maybe some GUI design overhauls to modernize created solutions.
But a coffin nail? Not for long way down the road. It is too ingrained into too many businesses to let it die on the vine. Sadly, your article is flawed and biased. Microsoft deprecated Web Databases from Access, one of its components. They never said they were doing away with Access as a whole. Access remains the most commonly used applications from fortune companies to small mom and pop businesses alike and this is due to its extreme flexibility, compatibility.
While it does have its shortcomings, no doubt there, your proposed alternatives cannot compete with Access, not even close to being potential replacements! I disagree with most of the comments here. Access is outdated, difficult to use, prone to crashing, and not suited to much of anything other than a personal sandbox or very limited application with a very small user base.
The reality is that younger developers have no desire or need to work with this product, and users have become so accustomed to point and click web applications that the idea of opening Access, which has the look and feel of software, is a joke.
If you have small data and just need a quick form, SharePoint Online functions just fine. Yes, I hear this a lot from people with no coding skills or basic knowledge.
It crashes when the database is not in stable state or an operation is running while things are running. There are techniques to minimize these incidents. Yes, that is what we are doing. Using Access for the GUI front-end only. We are currently looking for a GUI based web development platform to migrate over. I picked up much of my understanding on my own through the Step by Step series so am clearly self-taught.
I see your revision. I would love to see any links to articles directly quoting Microsoft as having made this announcement.
I have been an Access developer and trainer since , and a Microsoft MVP in and , and I have stayed up-to-date with everything Access related. Web apps, yes. Those deserved to die. But the desktop Access application has always been vehemently supported at Microsoft.
Hi, Richard, Here is a page from the Microsoft website that talks about Microsoft Access being removed from Office in with all traces of Access taken out of all Microsoft web applications by April I did say in the article that Microsoft always intended to continue developing and supporting the desktop version.
Did you even look at the MS stack and think about their commitment to Power Platform as the approach do get databases online? Hi there, thanks for the article. Hence, this debate is really about the MS Windows and the rest. How about Web and the Desktops debate? And than welcome to Python for Web, for example Jam. If one can design the App with Access, than moving to Jam. Just like Jam. And it is free. Access is not free. It is still bugged by comdlg And SQL Server price?
Not cheap by no means. Claris International Inc. Claris FileMaker is a low-code tool that helps problem solvers create, share, and integrate custom apps that address their unique business challenges.
I find the comments more interesting to read than the article. I have been searching for an online database with forms and reports capabilities to replace my Access database for a few years with previously limited funding and now no funding from my company. IT has no capacity to assist. Currently, I am still using Word for applicants to complete the information and I enter a few essential details in the database — all very manual.
Is there a way to connect the Access to online forms and create online reports for relevant personnel to access? Probably yes. You can control Word, Excel, etc. Excel is the easiest. Word is OK. Outlook is difficult. Online reports can, theoretically, be done. It might be easier to find another, more modern solution, but they could be so generic that getting them to do what you want might be a total pain.
Then you can create a new Word document, open it, fill it with text and tables, etc. You can control formatting. It was a CRM and quoting system for a motor vehicle leasing company. The proposal was sent to the potential customer via email. I had to combine all the read-only docs into a single PDF and attach it and all the Word docs to an automatically generated email. Lots of customised, formatted text in the body of the Outlook email.
I had to create an Outlook reminder to follow up, copied to the consultants manager s , at the same time. It was a lot of fun for me to work it all out. All users can use Access and see all online data for reports, etc. If you were to make PowerApps, you can use the lists from phones or tablets as well.
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