Free online SAV to MDB converter

People convert SAV data to MDB when they need to open statistical records in Microsoft Access, distribute them as an Access database, or use Access queries, forms, and reports. The conversion only works when the SAV file contains structured data, such as an SPSS dataset; game-save SAV files are unrelated and cannot be turned into useful MDB tables.

What the SAV format is

.sav most commonly identifies an IBM SPSS Statistics data file. SPSS, PSPP, and some statistical applications create SAV files to store rows and columns together with variable names, data types, missing-value definitions, measurement levels, value labels, and dataset metadata. Survey results, experiment data, and exported statistical datasets frequently use this format.

The extension is also used by many games for saved progress. A game SAV file usually contains proprietary binary data rather than database tables, so changing its extension or importing it into Access does not produce meaningful records.

What the MDB format is

.mdb is the Microsoft Access database format used primarily by Access 2000–2003. It can contain tables, relationships, indexes, queries, forms, reports, macros, and database security settings. MDB is useful when an older Access application, reporting system, or database driver specifically requires the legacy format.

Access versions 2007 and later normally create .accdb files. They can generally create or save an older MDB database through File → Save As → Access 2002–2003 Database (*.mdb), although newer Access features may be unavailable in MDB format.

How to actually convert SAV to MDB

Recommended method: export from SPSS or PSPP, then import into Access

1. Open the SAV file in IBM SPSS Statistics or PSPP. Confirm that it is a statistical dataset rather than a game save.
2. Check variable names, types, missing values, and value labels. Resolve unsupported names or types before export; Access field names should avoid periods, brackets, and reserved words.
3. Export the data to CSV. In SPSS, use File → Save As, select a delimited text format such as CSV, and configure whether variable names appear in the first row. PSPP provides a comparable export option through File → Export.
4. Open Microsoft Access and create a blank database. Use External Data → New Data Source → From File → Text File, select the CSV file, and choose Import the source data into a new table.
5. In the import wizard, identify the delimiter, enable the first-row field-name option, and inspect each column's detected data type. Set identifiers to appropriate numeric or short-text types, date columns to Date/Time, and long responses to Long Text.
6. Save the imported database as MDB using File → Save As → Access 2002–2003 Database (*.mdb). If Access creates an ACCDB first, open it and use the same Save As option.

For a supported file type, 101convert.com can perform the conversion online for free without installing software. Verify the resulting database by opening it in Access and checking tables, row counts, field types, and representative values.

Direct database export from SPSS

Some SPSS editions provide database export through File → Export or the Database Wizard. If an Access-compatible data source is available, configure the Microsoft Access ODBC driver, select the destination table, and export the active dataset. This can preserve more type information than CSV, but driver availability depends on Windows, Office bitness, SPSS version, and installed Access Database Engine components. Create an MDB destination rather than an ACCDB destination when the receiving application requires MDB.

Quality, compatibility, and limitations

• CSV is a data interchange format, not a full SPSS-to-Access metadata conversion. Variable labels, value labels, measurement levels, multiple-response definitions, custom missing values, and weighting settings may be lost or require manual reconstruction.
• CSV export can alter dates, leading zeros, decimal separators, quotation marks, line breaks, and Unicode characters. Use UTF-8 when available and inspect identifiers such as postal codes as text rather than numbers.
• Access MDB has a 2 GB maximum file size, a maximum of 255 fields per table, and legacy data-type restrictions. Large SPSS datasets may need filtering, splitting across related tables, or an ACCDB/database-server target.
• SPSS system-missing values and user-defined missing values do not map automatically to Access's NULL semantics. Decide whether each missing code should remain a numeric category or become NULL.
• Importing rows creates tables, but it does not create primary keys, relationships, indexes, queries, forms, or reports. Define those objects manually in Access after import.
• If the SAV file is a game save, no general-purpose conversion exists. The game, its modding tools, or a format-specific parser is required to interpret the contents.