Free online MDB to TXT converter

Legacy business software, scripts, and some devices accept plain text but cannot read Microsoft Access databases. Exporting the required MDB table or query as TXT provides a simpler file for sharing, searching, archiving, or importing.

What the MDB format is

MDB is the Microsoft Access database format used by Access through version 2003 and still supported for compatibility by later versions. An MDB file can contain tables, relationships, queries, forms, reports, indexes, macros, and VBA modules. Access users, database administrators, and older business applications commonly encounter MDB files during legacy-system maintenance or data migration.

What the TXT format is

TXT is a plain-text format without database tables, relationships, indexes, forms, formulas, or executable code. Database exports usually use delimited text: one record per line and fields separated by commas, tabs, semicolons, or another selected character. TXT is widely supported by text editors, scripts, spreadsheets, command-line tools, and older devices, but it cannot preserve the structure or behavior of an Access database.

How to convert MDB to TXT

Using Microsoft Access

1. Open the .mdb file in Microsoft Access.
2. In the Navigation Pane, select the table or saved query to export. Export each required table separately if the database contains multiple related tables.
3. Choose External Data → Text File.
4. Enter a destination and filename such as Customers.txt, then confirm the export.
5. In the Export Text Wizard, select Delimited unless the receiving program requires fixed-width text. Choose a delimiter such as tab, comma, or semicolon, and enable a field-name header if column names are needed.
6. Select an appropriate encoding when Access provides that option; UTF-8 is generally suitable for modern software and non-ASCII characters.
7. Finish the export and inspect the resulting file in a text editor or the target application.

Export a saved query instead of a table when the output needs selected columns, filtering, sorting, calculated fields, or joined data. Save the query before selecting it in External Data → Text File.

Using mdbtools

On Linux and macOS, mdbtools can read many unencrypted MDB files without Microsoft Access. After installing it through the operating system’s package manager, list the available tables:

mdb-tables -1 database.mdb

Export a table as comma-delimited text:

mdb-export database.mdb Customers > Customers.txt

For tab-delimited output in Bash, use:

mdb-export -d $'\t' database.mdb Customers > Customers.txt

Repeat the command for other tables. mdbtools support varies with Access versions, encrypted files, complex queries, attachments, and unusual field types, so verify the output before using it.

Using 101convert.com

For a conversion without installing software, use the free converter on 101convert.com: upload the MDB file, choose TXT as the output format, start the conversion, and download the result. Do not upload confidential or regulated database contents unless the service is approved for that data; use Access or a local command-line tool when privacy and export settings must remain under your control.

Quality and compatibility limits

• The export contains data from a selected table or query, not the complete database. Relationships, keys, indexes, forms, reports, macros, VBA code, and query definitions are not preserved.
• Keep separate output files for related tables and retain their original table names. Include header rows when the receiving system expects column names.
• Delimited text requires correct quoting when values contain the delimiter, quotation marks, or line breaks. Confirm that the target program uses the same delimiter and quote rules.
• Check the encoding when names or values contain accented letters, Asian scripts, or other non-ASCII characters. Opening UTF-8 text as a legacy Windows code page can corrupt characters.
• Dates, times, currency, Boolean values, nulls, and calculated fields can be rendered differently by Access, mdbtools, and the receiving application. Compare row counts and representative records after conversion.
• Password-protected, encrypted, damaged, or unusually structured MDB files may require the original Access environment or valid credentials; a converter cannot recover inaccessible data.
• For large databases, export only the required tables or queries and verify that the destination program supports the resulting file size and line format.