Free online MDB to RTF converter

MDB files contain databases, while RTF files contain formatted documents, so this conversion is usually needed when database records or reports must be shared, edited, or archived in a word processor. The useful result is normally an exported Access table, query, or report rather than the complete database structure.

What the MDB format is

MDB is the legacy Microsoft Access database format used by Access 2003 and earlier, although newer Access versions can still open and create it. An MDB file may contain tables, queries, forms, reports, macros, relationships, indexes, and VBA modules.

You commonly encounter MDB files from older business applications, accounting systems, inventory databases, archived Access projects, and database exports from organizations that have not migrated to the newer ACCDB format. An MDB file is not a document, so an RTF conversion cannot preserve interactive forms, relational behavior, queries as executable objects, macros, or database permissions.

What the RTF format is

RTF (Rich Text Format) is a document format supported by Microsoft Word, LibreOffice Writer, WordPad, and many document-processing applications. It stores paragraphs, character formatting, tables, page breaks, and some embedded objects in a relatively portable plain-text-based file.

RTF is suitable when recipients need to review or edit exported database content without Microsoft Access. It is also useful for printed reports and long-term document interchange, but it does not retain database tables as independently queryable tables or preserve the original MDB application.

How to actually convert MDB to RTF

Export an Access report

1. Open the MDB file in Microsoft Access. If the file is damaged or blocked, make a backup and open it with the correct Access version or a compatible Access Runtime environment.
2. Open the report that contains the required records. If no report exists, create one with the Report Wizard and select the table or query as its record source.
3. Review the report in Print Preview and set grouping, sorting, page orientation, margins, and visible fields.
4. Use External Data → Export → Word or the version-specific Word/RTF export command.
5. Choose an output filename such as customer_report.rtf, select the destination, and complete the export. In Access versions that expose a format choice, select Rich Text Format.

Exporting a report is the most reliable method because Access renders the selected fields, labels, grouping, and page layout before writing the RTF file.

Export table or query data

1. Open the table or saved query containing the required records.
2. Remove unnecessary columns, apply filters, and sort the records before exporting.
3. For a direct Word/RTF export, use External Data → Export → Word if that command is available for the selected object.
4. If the command is unavailable or produces poor layout, create a report from the table or query and export that report instead.

For a document assembled from selected fields, use Microsoft Word mail merge with Access as the data source, then save the completed document through File → Save As and choose Rich Text Format (*.rtf).

Convert without installing desktop software

You can use the free converter on 101convert.com: upload the MDB file, choose RTF as the output format, start the conversion, and download the result. For confidential databases, use a local Access workflow instead of uploading the file, and verify the service's handling and retention terms before submitting it.

Quality, compatibility, and limitations

RTF conversion exports a representation of the data; it does not convert the MDB into an RTF-based database. Relationships, primary keys, indexes, validation rules, forms, reports as editable Access objects, macros, VBA code, and queries usually cannot be recovered from the RTF output.

Check dates, currency values, null fields, Unicode characters, long memo fields, calculated columns, and embedded images after conversion. Access reports can paginate differently in RTF, and complex controls, charts, subreports, conditional formatting, and page headers may be simplified or omitted.

For large tables, export in sections or create a report with controlled page breaks. Preserve the original .mdb file and compare record counts and representative values between the source query and the resulting RTF document.