When using modern computer systems, users often encounter unknown file formats, the opening of which causes some difficulties. One of these can be called documents with the extension .mdb. By far, not all users understand how to open such an object, since this extension can be registered in the system and relate to third-party programs. What to do in this case? Further, several solutions are proposed that, depending on the situation, will help to open, view or edit the desired file of this type. Some solutions for ordinary users may seem rather non-standard, nevertheless, they cannot be discounted.
How to open MDB file: basic format concepts
In general, initially, the user of Windows-based computer systems in which the main office suite is installed does not need to go far. The question of how to open the MDB format is solved quite simply using the Access application.
It is he who is associated with this type of file, which by default is registered in the system. Pay attention to the moment that when the display of extensions of registered files in the same "Explorer" is disabled, you can see only the file icon.
But this is not so simple. The problem is that the MDB format may not apply to spreadsheets, but to the media used in Avid software products (and not only). Therefore, the question of how to open the .mdb extension comes down to the correct choice of the main application that is responsible for using this type of data.
Table Editors
Based on the fact that initially such an object is just a table, the question of opening is reduced only to using the appropriate office application.
By default, files of this type are opened in Access, but for convenience, you can also use Excel with the choice of the format of the object when opening it. In principle, both programs are very similar to each other, but only with the difference that Excel is still a mathematical or logical tool, and Access is a tool for working with databases (even SQL). By the way, installing an SQL server often allows you to solve the problem of opening files of this type, bypassing the original application from the office suite.
How to open MDB besides Access?
But in the case when there is no “Office” at hand, you can use other, no less popular and advanced applications. For example, one of the possible solutions is the use of editors from the Open Office package, which in their capabilities are not only inferior to the MS Office package, and in some cases even surpass it.
Based on the use of Microsoft systems, Visual Studio is suitable here. You can convert the format using converters like Freewind MDB Converter. You can view the contents of a file using a regular viewer, say MDB Viewer Plus. Such applications can be used in other operating systems (this will be discussed separately).
Multimedia issues
Unfortunately, the question of how to open an MDB file has a flip side. The main problem here is that some multimedia programs like Avid Pro Tools, originally developed for Mac systems, but later adapted for Windows (versions 9 and 10), also use this format to store their own data in the form of project files.
And in this case, the question of how to open the MDB file comes down to choosing the appropriate application. In Explorer, unfortunately, such a file can be marked as an Access object, although in reality it is a completely different data type. Here (if you know for sure that this is a media file) you will have to use the opening via the PCM menu with manual selection of the program, even if it is not in the list of potentially suitable applications. It is about choosing Avid Pro Tools.
Drivers
But the question of how to open an MDB object using the above program is not always resolved positively. The fact is that without the necessary sound driver, the program simply will not work.
During the installation of the main package, it will be necessary to agree with the installation of a specific Avid driver for a virtual sound device, even though the ASIO4ALL driver may be present in the system. In some cases, you will have to reinstall it by downloading the latest version in advance.
Of course, the settings will not change, but for normal work with the project it will be necessary to increase the buffer to 2048 samples, since initially the Pro Tools program itself with a set value of 512 samples, which corresponds to a delay of 10 ms, can simply slow down. Owners of the program FL Studio version 10 and higher can be advised to use special software in the form of a driver Low Latency Driver, which, unlike the original ASIO4ALL, consumes not so many system resources and is one of the most preferred if an integrated sound is used on a computer or laptop card with support for High Definition Audio, built directly into the motherboard.
What else can I use?
In principle, these are the main points associated with opening files of this type. Sometimes you can use programs like Wolfram Research Mathematica for Windows systems. For “poppies” MDB Viewer is suitable, for Linux - SAS Institute SAS or MDB Export.
In any case, if the file is a registered object, you will have to first evaluate its contents, because even the standard Access package cannot always open files of this type (especially if they relate to multimedia). Otherwise, as expected, there should not be any difficulties, since initially objects of this type for users who do not use programs for writing music, recording live instruments or vocals in the system themselves are initialized precisely as databases.