CODEWITHSUNDEEP
sqlms-accesspermissions
tmolloy8
tmolloy8

Reputation: 41

Accessing backend tables in .mdb files from MS Access

My organization uses a user-friendly donor database software that stores its data in .mdb tables in the installation folder. The program itself uses a proprietary method of querying that is unfamiliar to me. I'm a bit familiar with SQL and want to access the tables outside of the software to do queries with SQL. The software allows us to use SQL code but we have to pay a lot more money for that feature. So I'm hoping to open the database files myself and do my own querying.

When I make a copy of the .mdb files and open them, I am not prompted for a password. I can see the table names, but when I go to open an individual table, MS Access gives me the error "Could not read definitions; no read definitions persmission for table or query." When I open it in MDB Viewer Plus I get the error "error setting table name:Records cannot be read; no read permission" I open it back up in MS Access and check out the users listed. There is only one user "Admin" and there is not a password set for it. I try to change the permissions for "Admin" to Read/Modify/Administer but it gives me the error "To change permissions for this object you must have administer permission for it."

My question is, how do I get administer permission for the database? Obviously the donor software has a way to open the databases, so how do I bypass that and open them myself?

Upvotes: 1

Views: 3817

Answers (1)

Omnikrys
Omnikrys

Reputation: 2558

There should be an associated MDW file in the data directory or possibly in the app's install directory. That is the workgroup file for the database and will need to be used when opening the database.

Odds are if they went to the trouble of setting up a workgroup though that they locked it down so you couldn't do what you want to do.

This is a pretty good step by step for how to open a database with a workgroup file. You can do the same thing in code too.

Upvotes: 1

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