Free online ACCDB to XML converter

Applications that cannot open Microsoft Access databases may require the records in XML for import, integration, archiving, or exchange. XML can also provide selected tables or query results to systems that accept structured text instead of an Access database file.

What the ACCDB format is

ACCDB is the Microsoft Access database format introduced with Access 2007. One file can contain tables, relationships, queries, forms, reports, macros, VBA modules, indexes, attachments, and database settings.

Access is used for departmental databases, desktop data-entry applications, and small business systems that need a local relational database. An ACCDB file is a database container rather than a single table, so an export normally targets a specific table or saved query. Older Access versions may not open ACCDB files without a compatible database engine.

What the XML format is

XML is a text-based markup format that represents records with nested elements and attributes. Integration software, programming languages, spreadsheets, document-management systems, and text editors can process XML without Microsoft Access.

XML is useful when a receiving system specifies an XML import format, when records must pass through an integration workflow, or when selected data needs a text-based archive. XML does not have one universal record structure; the destination may require particular element names, namespaces, field order, or an XSD schema.

How to convert ACCDB to XML

Microsoft Access provides the most controllable export because it lets you choose the table or query and the accompanying schema options.

1. Make a backup and open a copy of the .accdb file in Microsoft Access.
2. In the Navigation Pane, select the table or saved query to export. Use a query when you need filtered records or selected columns.
3. Choose External Data → Export → XML File.
4. Set the destination and an output name ending in .xml, then select OK.
5. In the export options, select Data to export records. Select Schema of the data when the recipient needs an XSD description of fields and types. Select Presentation of the data only when an XSL presentation file is required.
6. Repeat the export for each table or query required by the recipient. Open the result in an XML-aware editor and check the record count, field names, encoding, null values, and date and currency values.

Depending on the selected options, Access may create an XML data file plus an XSD schema file and an XSL presentation file. Access uses its own export structure; the result may need transformation before it matches a third-party XML specification.

Using the online converter

You can convert an ACCDB file on 101convert.com for free without installing software: upload the file, choose XML as the output format, start the conversion, and download the result. Verify the output before using it for important data, especially when the database contains relationships, attachments, calculated fields, multivalued fields, or confidential records.

Compatibility and data limits

XML export transfers data, not the complete Access application. Forms, reports, macros, VBA code, indexes, permissions, validation behavior, saved queries as executable objects, and database settings are not recreated as equivalent XML features.

Exporting related tables separately can remove the relationship definitions even when primary-key and foreign-key values remain in the records. A query can produce a convenient flat dataset, but it exports only the columns and rows returned by that query.

Test nulls, embedded line breaks, special characters such as & and <, attachments, multivalued fields, calculated values, and Access-specific date or currency fields. If the destination requires custom names, namespaces, a fixed element order, or a particular schema, apply an XSLT transformation or generate the required XML with a script after export instead of editing a large file manually.