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Upgrading older versions of Access databases to Access 2016

Anonymous
2015-11-02T20:07:49+00:00

Is there a utility or an option in Access 2016 to convert older versions of databases to Access 2016?  Am I just missing something?  I have a few databases in older versions that I could use for reference until I upgraded to 2016.  Access 2016 will not even open them.  Also, is it possible to have multiple versions of Access on my system at the same time?

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-11-03T12:58:21+00:00

    You should have no problems opening earlier files if you were able to open them in Access 2013.  If all else fails, however, you could try creating a new empty database in Access 2016 and importing all objects from an earlier file into it.  I've been able to do this with files back to Access 2003 .mdb files at least.

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  2. ScottGem 68,820 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2015-11-02T23:44:27+00:00

    I believe the older version is Access 2007 which 2013 was able to open the older versions.

    2016 should have no problem opening 2007 files. What problems are you encountering?

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-11-02T20:10:26+00:00

    What is the current version/format of the database files?

    Yes, you can have multiple versions of Access on the same machine.  That said, the preferred approach would be to create a separate virtual machine for each one, but many people have them residing along side of one another.

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  4. Tom van Stiphout 40,201 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2015-11-02T21:31:52+00:00

    You can open older version in A2016 and then File > SaveAs.

    If REALLY old version you first have to do this in an intermediate version, like A2003.

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  5. Anonymous
    2015-11-02T20:28:29+00:00

    I believe the older version is Access 2007 which 2013 was able to open the older versions.

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