How to Use MDB Viewer
MDB Viewer is a read-only browser tool. Select a database file, inspect its tables, and export the table data you need. The file is parsed locally in your browser.
Open the viewer and drop the file onto the file selection area, or click that area to choose it from your computer.
- Supported extensions: .mdb and .accdb.
- No account or sign-up is required.
- For sensitive files, confirm that your organization allows browser-based local tools.
The browser reads the binary Access file and extracts table metadata. Small files usually load quickly; large files depend on device memory.
- System tables and linked tables are hidden or unavailable when they do not contain local data.
- Password-protected databases must be unlocked in Microsoft Access first.
- If the browser becomes slow, close other tabs and try again.
After parsing, the table list appears on the left. Select a table to view rows in the data grid.
- The grid shows 50 rows at a time for performance.
- Wide tables can be scrolled horizontally.
- The selected table name and total row count appear above the grid.
Click Export CSV to download the currently selected table. Export repeats one table at a time.
- The CSV includes the full table, not only the visible page of rows.
- CSV files are generated as UTF-8.
- The original Access database file is not changed.
| App | Note |
|---|---|
| Excel | Use Data > From Text/CSV and choose UTF-8 if accents or Chinese characters look wrong. |
| Google Sheets | Use File > Import > Upload. Sheets usually detects UTF-8 automatically. |
| LibreOffice Calc | Open the CSV and select Unicode (UTF-8) with comma as the separator. |
| Python | Use pandas.read_csv('Customers.csv') after export. |
Failed to process
Check that the file is a real MDB/ACCDB file, not a renamed ZIP or temporary download.
Password-protected database
Open the file in Access, remove the password, save a copy, then try the copy.
Browser froze
The file may be too large for available browser memory. Use Access, mdb-tools, or a local script.
No rows appear
The database may only contain forms, reports, linked tables, or empty tables.
CSV characters look broken
Import the CSV as UTF-8 instead of opening it with the system default encoding.
| Tool | Best for | Platform |
|---|---|---|
| MDB Viewer | Quick viewing and CSV export | Any modern browser |
| Microsoft Access | Editing, forms, reports, macros, VBA, passwords | Windows |
| mdb-tools | Batch export and automation | macOS, Linux |
| Python scripts | ETL, cleanup, and repeatable migrations | Any OS |
- Open your browser developer tools and watch the Network tab while loading a file.
- You should not see a request uploading the database file to mdb-viewer.com.
- Refreshing or closing the tab clears the parsed data from the browser session.