How to connect MS Access to mariadb

Access does not natively list MariaDB as a data source, but it can connect because MariaDB speaks the MySQL protocol. The connection is done through an ODBC or OLE DB driver that exposes MariaDB/MySQL as a standard data source, and then Access links to the tables.

Typical high‑level steps are:

1. Install a MariaDB/MySQL driver
   • On Windows, install a 32‑bit ODBC or OLE DB driver that supports MariaDB/MySQL (for example, the MariaDB Connector/ODBC or a compatible MySQL ODBC driver).
   • If using 32‑bit Access (most common), install the 32‑bit driver; if using 64‑bit Access, install the 64‑bit driver.
2. Create a DSN (if using ODBC)
   • Open the appropriate “ODBC Data Sources” tool (32‑bit or 64‑bit to match Access).
   • Add a new System DSN using the MariaDB/MySQL driver.
   • Enter server name/host, port, database name, user, and password.
   • Test the connection and save the DSN.
3. Link the MariaDB tables in Access
   • In Access, open the database where the linked tables should live.
   • Go to External Data → New Data Source → choose the appropriate data source type (for ODBC, choose ODBC Database; for OLE DB, choose the corresponding provider if available).
   • Choose Link to the data source by creating a linked table.
   • Select the DSN (for ODBC) or configure the provider connection (for OLE DB) to the MariaDB server.
   • Select the tables to link and finish the wizard.
   • Access creates linked tables; changes in MariaDB are reflected in Access, and edits in Access are written back to MariaDB, but table structure changes must be done in MariaDB.

The general behavior of linked tables in Access is:

• Access creates a linked table object that points to the external data source.
• Data edits are synchronized both ways, but schema changes (adding/removing columns, changing data types) must be done in the source database, not in Access.

If instead of live linking only a one‑time copy of the data is needed, use External Data → New Data Source → import (rather than link) and then work with local Access tables.

References:

• Basic tasks for an Access desktop database
• Introduction to importing, linking, and exporting data in Access
• Import or link to data in another Access database