Access 2013 - Dbase (.dbf) Table Import option

Anonymous
2013-02-03T16:16:55+00:00

I need to be able to import read/write Dbase dbf tables - yes they are still around so why has the standard option that was in Access 2010 gone?

I have seen mention of ISAM, which is gobbledegook to me. So please a simple answer - what do I need to install or change and how do I do it?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Access | For home | Windows

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ScottGem 68,840 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
2016-09-08T09:08:22+00:00

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  1. George Hepworth 23,120 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2016-08-04T03:04:39+00:00

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-08-19T16:32:09+00:00

    Thanks for your post, but I don't think the whole GIS community is "a handful of people".  dbf is the data solution for the most popular spatial data format (shapefiles).  Accessing the tabular data of your shapefiles with Access was always a great tool.  No worries, I'll just uninstall and re-install 2010.  MS Access was the only application that still held me to Microsoft. Cutting the cord now.

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  3. George Hepworth 23,120 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2016-08-19T17:13:51+00:00

    As you may or may not realize, a lot has transpired since I posted that comment three years ago. I was fortunate enough, for example, to get direct input from other developers who also depend on the .dbf format. And I realized that they may be a relatively small percentage of all Access users, but to them, it's a VERY large portion of their businesses. And that's an important consideration as well.

    You are right, of course, and I have personally made that same argument DIRECTLY to the Access Team during more than one meeting. Others have done so as well.

    Trust me, they heard this in Redmond.

    You may not have noticed, but the Access Team has publically stated they intend to reinstate the ability to link to .dbf files.

    You can read about it here.

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-08-25T14:21:53+00:00

    Hi mgel.

    I too am using Microsoft Access 2013, and was shocked to discover that this version dropped support for dbf files. I tried using Excel 2010, but there too, support for dbf was dropped. So it appears Microsoft has dropped all support for dbf some time ago. Only yesterday did a colleague have the same issue, but I was able to read his dbf file using GIS software (ArcGIS). That's not an option for most users.

    If you still have an old copy of Office 2003 or earlier, you may be able to install an older version of Access or Excel and convert your dbf files.

    Attention DBF users - dBase is still available!

    You may be surprised to know that dBase still exists, is still supported, and is still being sold. Visit their website at http://www.dbase.com/. dBase now has a utility dbfExport™ 2 for converting your dbf files to CSV and other file formats. Check out the web page at http://www.dbase.com/dbfutilities/dbfexport-2/.

    Cheers,

    Rupertsland

    Canada

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