How to Export Access to Excel with All Records + Formatting?

Rollins Duke
Published: March 1st, 2024 • 7 Min Read

If you are searching for ways to export Access to Excel? Then you are in the right search result. In this article, we will provide three different techniques that are straightforward to implement and easy to understand. Additionally, this is going to be your comprehensive guide where you can also find all you need to know about related to the topic “convert data from MS Access records to Excel”. So let’s not waste time and start learning.

Why Should You Export Access Database to Excel?

If we talk about MS Access and Excel, then these both are Microsoft applications. However, their purpose for server data management is different. Access is primarily a Rational Database Management System (RDBMS) which helps to organize and store large volumes of data along with the capability of strong queries.

People export Access to Excel because Excel is a powerful spreadsheet software that helps Excel data analysis, visualization, and reporting.
Apart from that Excel has an easy-to-use interface with extensive charting tools, and the capability to manipulate data.
What’s more interesting is that Excel also allows one to perform complex calculations, Explore possible outcomes, and produce high-quality charts.

These were just a brief of why people convert Access databases to Excel. In the next paragraph, we will discuss all the major advantages to import data from MDB/ACCDB files to Excel with a proper explanation.

How to Export Access to Excel with All Records? – A 101 Guide

In the upcoming sections, we have highlighted three ways to migrate MS Access All tables, reports, queries, forms, and more to Excel: manually, technical way, or using a straightforward method. While all the options are effective, the manual approach has limitations that may become apparent during the process. To avoid these limitations and simplify the task, you can utilize an instant solution that doesn’t require any effort or technical experience.

Method 1. Migrate Microsoft Access database to Excel via VBA code

In the following technique, you will come to know about access export through VBA (Visual Basic for Applications). Here, you can simply copy the code given below are paste it into the VBA code module within Access.

Open your Microsoft Access database.

Pick the Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) Editor: Press Alt + F11 to open the VBA editor.
Create a new Module:

In the VBA editor, right-click on any item in the left-hand pane (like Forms, Reports, etc.).
Choose Insert –> Module to create a new module.

Example VBA Code:

Sub ExportToExcel()
Dim xlApp As Object
Set xlApp = CreateObject(“Excel.Application”)

Dim xlWB As Object
Set xlWB = xlApp.Workbooks.Add

Dim xlWS As Object
Set xlWS = xlWB.Worksheets(1)

‘ Replace “YourTableName” with the actual name of your table
Dim sqlQuery As String
sqlQuery = “SELECT * FROM YourTableName”

‘ Copy data to Excel
With xlWS.QueryTables.Add(Connection:=CurrentProject.Connection, _
Destination:=xlWS.Range(“A1”), Sql:=sqlQuery)
.Refresh
End With

‘ Save the Excel workbook
xlWB.SaveAs “C:\Path\To\Your\Excel\File.xlsx”

‘ Close Excel
xlApp.Quit

‘ Release objects from memory
Set xlWS = Nothing
Set xlWB = Nothing
Set xlApp = Nothing
End Sub

Make sure to replace the “YourTableName” database name with the actual name of your table. Also, specify the desired path (C:\Path\To\Your\Excel\File.xlsx) for the Excel file.

Run the VBA Code:

Close the VBA editor.
Run the macro by pressing Alt + F8, selecting “ExportToExcel,” and clicking “Run.”

Method 2: Export Access to Excel Manually Using MS Access

In this section, you will come to know about the free way to migrate the data in MDB and ACCDB files to Excel (.xlsx) spreadsheet with the help of MS Access itself. Follow the steps to execute it:

Step 1. Download and open Microsoft Access. Click on “Browse” to open the database you want to export.

Step 2. Pick the table query report or any database record that you desire to migrate.

Step 3. Preview the data before converting to .xlsx file format.

Step 4. Next, navigate to the “External Data” tab in the top Ribbon of the Access window.

Step 5. From the “Export” group, select “Excel” from the list of available export formats.

Step 6. In the next window, fill in the given details like file name, location, and whether to export the data to a new workbook or an existing one.

Step 7. Depending on your preferences, choose the export type with or without formatting. Besides this, you can specify the field names in the first row as well.

Step 8. After confirming all the respective options, click on the “Finish” button at the end. Then, Access will export the data from the selected database to the specified Excel (.xlsx) file format.

Step 9. To check the data has been successfully exported, open the Excel file.

Limitations in the Manual Solution to Convert Access Database to Excel

Here are some of the challenges that users face while performing the easily accessible techniques:

If you have large datasets, using the above method can exceed the Excel limits and risk truncation or errors during the export process.
Compatibility issues may arise in different Access and Excel versions.
Manual or Free methods may overlook sensitive data at times.
Requires technical knowledge, especially about VBA code or complex data transformations.
Manual solution lacks expertise in effectively identifying and resolving export errors.

Method 3: Export Access to Excel With All Tables & Records – Expert Recommended

BitRecover Access Converter Tool allows for a seamless transfer of data such as tables, queries, forms, reports, etc. without Access. It effectively preserves all tables and associated data in distinct pages, ensuring that no information is lost during the export process. Further, in this professional tech, all the above limitations are covered and answered. Now, let’s check out some features of this automated utility:

Save Access files to CSV, MDB, ACCDB, Excel, SQL Server, MySQL.
Export MDB & ACCDB to XLSX per database/table.
Migrate corrupted MDB or ACCDB files easily with and without formatting.
Import deleted data from Access Database.
Transfer Access Database with Tables, Queries, Forms, Reports, etc.
Choose export filters for schema or schema & data.
Convert files from MS Access 2021, 2019, to older versions.
Compatible to run on Windows OS 11, 10, or below.

Download Now Purchase Now

Steps to Export Data from Access to Excel

To get started, simply download and install the application on your computer. After installation, export Access to Excel.
To find and use the “Browse” button within the application interface select MDB/ACCDB file to export Access to Excel.
Once you have chosen your database file, simply click on the “Recover” button and allow the software to thoroughly analyze your data.
After completing the analysis, click on the “Export” button. By clicking this button, you can start to export Access database to Excel.
When the “Save as” dialogue box appears, make sure to choose the option for “Excel” format.
(Before completing the conversion, make sure to thoroughly review the export options available in the software.)
Depending on your specific requirements, you can select either “Only Schema” or “Schema & Data.”
To efficiently convert your Access database to Excel, simply click on the “Export/Save” button to export Access database to Excel.

Conclusion

We provided you with a comprehensive guide to export Access to Excel with multiple different techniques. All of the methods are effective and useful, just the difference is, that the manual method is too tough and technical to implement. Therefore, we recommend the best solution which not only converts the Access table records to Excel but also helps to export Access database to SQL Server.