# Can you get MS Access for Mac?



## Mat (Oct 20, 2004)

Hey peeps, that is the question.

I can buy a new mac for work if I can get Microsoft Access for it.
I know I could just get Virtual PC, but that's not really an option due to the budget.

So does anyone know if you can get MS Access for Mac?

Mat


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## fryke (Oct 20, 2004)

Nope. No MS Access for Mac.


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## themacko (Oct 20, 2004)

Which sucks because I use Access a lot for work.  Oh well, one of the few hardships us Mac users must endure.


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## Ceroc Addict (Oct 20, 2004)

What about programs that seemlessly open and save MS Access documents?

Kap


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## fryke (Oct 20, 2004)

Nope. No can do... While you might be able to transfer data between an MS Access and another database format, you won't be able to 'cleanly' open an MS Access database so that it acts and looks the same on Mac OS X. Virtual PC with MS Access is the only way to go if you don't want to skip on the Mac.


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## shorty114 (Oct 20, 2004)

nope...i was looking for it myself, since MS Access was the database i learned first. Then i found MySQL, and that was all i needed.

i asked online some other places, and haven't heard of any programs that can adapt to MS Access database file types. If you don't go VPC, the only other option is to go PC, unless there is a program like that that exists.

BTW fryke, how did you get the pre-release 10.4? or whatever that 10.4 is in your sig.


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## perfessor101 (Oct 22, 2004)

Access uses a proprietary file format that is zealously protected by Microsoft's legal department. If you are working on a Mac in a PC environment that uses Access your only options are: 
Microsoft's Virtual PC + Windows + Microsoft Access
A cheap PC + Windows + Microsoft Access
If you have any control over the choice of  database products 
FileMaker Pro is cross platform compatible and  a very worthy competitor to Access.
MySQL has been mentioned and it is an industrial strength database product that is also cross platform, but the interface is nowhere near as easy to use as either Access or FileMaker.


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