Is Microsoft Access available for Mac Users?

Hi Scott,

I did mention that the .accdr is a cosmetic rename.

My warning was just to those like me who wanted to verify the runtime experience and learned the hard way that it blocked my existing full installation.

Thanks!

-Tom

Correct- the Mac would still need a Windows platform to run Access.

The MS-Access runtime is a free solution for distributing Access creations without requiring each recipient to buy a copy of Access.

I suspect the issue with runtime installation blocking the IDE may be some registry entanglement(s) that give the runtime priority when a user has both a full copy of Access AND the runtime installed on a machine. The result is a very unpleasant and surprising loss of the development environment, even though it may have been working fine before the runtime installation.

Here is an older thread for Access 2010, but the difficulty persists using at least runtime 2016- https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/after-installing-access-runtime-2010-cannot-open/37c3c628-9028-431f-a18b-7d26508a8e63

I have not checked recently, but I believe the full Access system remains intact once the runtime is removed, although the 2010 response suggested the main .exe may be overwritten and thus need some follow-up repair or reinstallation.

And yes- there's no end to 'other problems that can arise'.

But- for several years until the present- the runtime has been a very useful no-cost solution to giving our users access to Access. Our Mac users connect to Remote Desktop Windows hosts where they run Access clients.

-Tom

Installing the Runtime license can interfere with an installed version by grabbing the association with the accdb file extension and opening all files in the Runtime. That's why its best to install the Runtime in a VM.

However, its not necessary to even install the Runtime on a machine that is used for development You referred to the accdr file extension. That is not something created by Access. An accdr is created simply by renaming an accdb as accdr. When a full Access installation opens an accdr file it acts like it is a runtime version. So if you want to test how your app will work in a runtime environment. You can just rename it as accdr. Name it back to accdb and you can open it with full access to design elements.

Note also that a machine with only the Runtime installed. does not require an accdr extension. It can open accdb and accde as well ac accdr.

The free runtime is irrelevant in the context of the Mac. The runtime also requires the Windows operating system.

I'm not sure what your second paragraph is trying to express about "blocking an installed full installation from launching the IDE."

On the other hand, it is a good idea to install the runtime in a separate VM or on a separate computer. That would ensure you are testing out an accdb in an environment that would parallel that in which a user would have only the runtime installed, and it would avoid any conflicts between installations.

However, "blocking an installed full installation from launching the IDE" does require fuller explanation if you don't mind. I think there are other problems that can arise; that's a new one for me.

Microsoft does make a free runtime available for Access. The IDE and development aspects are blocked, so the .accdr (runtime) version of a database client needs to include all forms, queries, reports and code in working states. That said- the runtime platform has been quite reliable and faithful. The one major problem it causes is hard crashes for unanticipated errors that do not have well-tested handlers. The .accdR extension is cosmetic and can be a rename of a .accdB file. The runtime should also launch from the .accdb version.

An inconvenience once the runtime is installed is that it can block an installed full installation from launching the IDE! So if you have a full installation, do NOT install the runtime kit 'for testing' on the same computer.

As of 5/20/204 this download link worked: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=50040

-Tom