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I would like to move some users off of MS Access and onto an open-source DB like MySQL, Postegres, or even SQLite. Transferring the tables from one DB to another is no problem, but I need to be able to also provide them with a similar UI as the MS Access forms they are using to input the data. Additionally, I would like to be able to give them nice report outputs that reference a table or query.

What open-source alternatives are suggested/available for easily building and storing queries, forms, and reports similar to MS Access, without a ton of programming needed to get them up-and-running quickly?

Obviously I am immediately targeting Windows alternatives, but I don't want to limit suggestions to just one OS.

RyanKDalton
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  • See http://stackoverflow.com/questions/221995/ms-access-front-end-alternative and http://stackoverflow.com/questions/6212848/alternative-to-ms-access-with-forms-and-reporting-capabilities – HansUp Aug 09 '11 at 17:48
  • Thank you for the links. I tried searching for similar before posting but must not have used the right keywords. Those are very informative. – RyanKDalton Aug 09 '11 at 18:02

2 Answers2

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Open Office - Base seems to be a good option

Aducci
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  • I must say that OOo Base's form builder (which uses Writer's engine) is a mess to use. I tried to make a database once in Base but it is so unintuitive that I abandonned the idea and install an old MS office XP with Access I had. – JMichelB Aug 09 '11 at 17:29
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We were to solve this problem also and considered OO Base not being very good option (note it was like 4 years ago). So we use MS Access as a frontend with ODBC connection to mysql database. It works quite well.

Tomas
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  • I currently have been testing that exact setup. However, I would eventually like to move away from the MS Access front-end, though. Therefore I am looking for alternatives to Access for form & report building. Paying for an Access front-end seems pointless (however, it does work well, so maybe that is worth the investment in the end...) – RyanKDalton Aug 09 '11 at 18:07
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    Starting with Access 2007, Microsoft has made the runtime version of Access available free of charge. So you could run your Access applications on client machines without paying for Access licenses. Only the developer(s) would need the full version of Access. – HansUp Aug 09 '11 at 18:19
  • @HansUp - what is the difference between 'development' and 'client' version of MS Access then? – Tomas Aug 09 '11 at 18:28
  • @Tomas Telensky The runtime client doesn't expose design capabilities, so you need the full Access version for development. – HansUp Aug 09 '11 at 18:37
  • what you mean with 'design capabilities'? Is creating queries a design capability? What about tables? And forms? – Tomas Aug 09 '11 at 18:45
  • HansUp is right. You cannot design queries, tables, or forms in Access Runtime. You could probably create a generic query creation tool using an unbound datasheet view form and then bind it on the fly using VBA. You'd have to generate the query on the fly as well, using VBA. It's a little less than ideal but it would also allow you to lock the fields/controls to prevent entering or editing data in a user-defined query. – HK1 Aug 09 '11 at 21:47
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    The point is that the runtime has no UI except what you provide for your users in the files you open with the runtime. It's sole purpose is to RUN Access applications. For design, you need ONE full copy of Access. – David-W-Fenton Aug 10 '11 at 21:12