Is there a way to connect to features and tables in a file geodatabase (gdb) through Micorsoft Access?

[StevenBristow]

I need to be able to work with the data that exists in a file geodatabase (gdb) in Micosoft Access.

Another department has an Access database they are using for a project and they need to include my data.

I don't want to have to continually export out snapshots to give them and would like to be able to set it up so they can directly access my data.

A previous process utilized a personal geodatabase (mdb) but I am trying to transition away from mdb into gdb.

If I can't come up with a working solution I may be forced to revert back to mdb.

Any method that will allow my gdb to be linked in as an external data source??

[JoeBorgione]

I doubt it. But... It might be worth while to see if/how Access can interface with SQL Server or SQL Server Express; that would have you migrating to an SDE type of geodatabase....

[TedKowal]

This is exactly why I do not work with file GDB's!  There are no "reliable" ODBC connectors that can attached with any degree of stability.

99.99% of the folks in my Shop are not GIS'rs, work with Word and Excel and do not have arcmap.  So I work strictly with SQL Server and MS Access (mainly MS Access slow migration to SQL server) where there is mutual support for attaching and linking to the data stores.  99% of my GIS work is to provide data to the non-GIS folk.

The bad side of doing this -- I cannot run with the speed and efficiency provided by the file GDB's.

my 2 cents!

[StevenBristow]

Certainly one of you highly intelligent programmers out there can come up with some kind of solution!

Come on ESRI people, you know how to read and write to a gdb, you know how to read and write to an mdb, certainly you can create a little stand alone something that talks to the gdb and makes it look like an mdb to Access.

A gui to point to the gdb and good to go.

[TedKowal]

Wes Miller​

Wes you most certainly can set up a model, .net  and even powerscipt to the task manager to do that.  However in my shop GIS is under engineering not IT and getting the IT folks to make sure the scripts are running has been very problematic -- for me just easier to do myself with a batch file run from my local machine... (Yes I use my local task manager to run the batch).

[curtvprice]

Vote this up: https://community.esri.com/ideas/1466‌

[WesMiller]

You could set up a model to replace the data in the mdb from the gdb and let task manager run it at night