Is there any way to view .accdb data in Pro?

[KamillePreto]

I never use Microsoft Access for the work that I do, but I do know that GIS professionals would be able to open or convert the Access data into their GIS. I was sent a .accdb from somebody who needs a map created and web application and I am unfamiliar with what the steps look like from here. I am aware that .accdb are no longer able to open up in Pro (I read in a few forums), however, I feel like there has to be some way to get the data from an .accdb into Pro so I can save the layers as shapefiles or feature classes.

I tried to go to Properties of the .accdb and change the extension to .gdb, which worked. But it is not showing up as a file that is able to be pulled into Pro - I assume it's formatting related.

Can anybody help me?

This type of GIS-related work is above my skill set and I am definitely confused.

[JoeBorgione]

Who knows: maybe by 2025 we'll see a resurgence of the Personal Geodatabase...  

[JoshuaBixby]

What gets me is that the local/runtime geodatabase (*.geodatabase) is basically a geodatabase implemented within SQLite.  ArcGIS Pro already reads them and writes them, Esri just won't let Pro use them like a functional/operational geodatabase. 

[JasonSmith4]

OMG Kory Kramer‌ you don't know HOW much you just made my day, month, YEAR!  MANY of us have been waiting with baited breath for this functionality.   YAY !!!!!!  I'm going out celebrating tonight!  LOL

[DuncanHornby]

This is indeed very good news to hear! I know most of the UK will be cheering at this!

[JasonSmith4]

Hey Kory Kramer, any update on the ArcGIS Pro 2.6 release?  Is it still scheduled for this month??  Looking forward to the OLE DB connection with Access.

[Page_Charles]

I beg to differ. I'll refrain from using the language to  "convert a file to read an ACCDB in PRO".  However, I'm very optimistic and almost sure the data can be integrated into ArcGIS Pro. There is a fix to resolve your issue. 

[JamesBurn__LET__C_E_T___GISP__]

As external applications were mentioned, a potential free option could be to work it through MS SQL Server. You can install the express version (free) and it can read/import both mdb and accdb. These tables in turn can then either be linked to directly from ArcPro or export to CSV etc. depending on where you want to go with it. Generally speaking I haven't had any issue moving between MS Access and MS SQL Server with respect to field types etc. I agree that it's a bit of a big hammer for a small nail, but the you do end up with the advantages of having a local SQL Server instance.

[Zeke]

Another option would be to export the tables in Access to Excel or csv and import those to Pro.

[JasonSmith4]

Hey Greg, while this is true.  It almost ALWAYS leads to fields getting set with incorrect data types.  For instance, Zip Code fields when imported from Excel or CSV usually come in as a number field, when they should really be text/string.  Same with company IDs that are numeric in nature, but should be treated a text/string.  By having native Access database tie-ins, as long as the data type is set correctly in the Access table, then it saves a step of having to make sure the fields coming in are set to the correct type in ArcGIS Pro.

[JoeBorgione]

I use the table to table tool in Pro to convert CSVs into FGDB tables; you can specify how each field is handled with that tool. That's really helpful for what you are describing, and especially so with text fields that otherwise default to 8,000 characters. Excel to table may be different but I try to stay away from them when it comes to ArcGIS...