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Refresh SSMA for Access (phase 2) (#36146)
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‎docs/ssma/access/access-inventory-schemas-accesstosql.md‎

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‎docs/ssma/access/adding-and-removing-access-database-files-accesstosql.md‎

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---
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title: "Adding and Removing Access Database Files (AccessToSQL)"
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description: Learn how to add or remove Access databases to or from the SSMA project to migrate Access data to SQL Server or Azure SQL Database.
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description: Learn how to add or remove Access databases to or from the SSMA project to migrate Access data to SQL Server or Azure SQL.
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author: nilabjaball
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ms.author: niball
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ms.date: "01/19/2017"
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ms.reviewer: randolphwest
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ms.date: 12/30/2025
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ms.service: sql
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ms.subservice: ssma
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ms.topic: conceptual
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ms.topic: article
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ms.collection:
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- sql-migration-content
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helpviewer_keywords:
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- "scanning for database files"
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- "searching for database files"
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---
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# Adding and Removing Access Database Files (AccessToSQL)
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To migrate Access data to [!INCLUDE[ssNoVersion](../../includes/ssnoversion-md.md)] or SQL Azure, you must add one or more Access databases to the SSMA project. These databases must be Access 97 or later versions. If you have databases from an earlier version of Access, you must convert the databases to a newer version. You do this by opening and saving the databases in Access 97 or a later version before you add them to SSMA.
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## What Happens When You Add Access Database Files?
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When you add an Access database to an SSMA project, SSMA reads database metadata, and then adds this metadata to the project file. This metadata describes the database and its objects. SSMA uses the metadata when it converts objects to [!INCLUDE[ssNoVersion](../../includes/ssnoversion-md.md)] or SQL Azure syntax, and when it migrates data to [!INCLUDE[ssNoVersion](../../includes/ssnoversion-md.md)] or SQL Azure. You can browse this metadata in Access Metadata Explorer and review properties of individual database objects.
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# Add and remove Access database files (AccessToSQL)
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To migrate Access data to [!INCLUDE [ssNoVersion](../../includes/ssnoversion-md.md)] or Azure SQL, you must add one or more Access databases to the SSMA project. These databases must be Access 97 or later versions. If you have databases from an earlier version of Access, you must convert the databases to a newer version. You do this by opening and saving the databases in Access 97 or a later version before you add them to SSMA.
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## What happens when you add Access database files?
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When you add an Access database to an SSMA project, SSMA reads database metadata, and then adds this metadata to the project file. This metadata describes the database and its objects. SSMA uses the metadata when it converts objects to [!INCLUDE [ssNoVersion](../../includes/ssnoversion-md.md)] or Azure SQL syntax, and when it migrates data to [!INCLUDE [ssNoVersion](../../includes/ssnoversion-md.md)] or Azure SQL. You can browse this metadata in Access Metadata Explorer and review properties of individual database objects.
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> [!NOTE]
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> An Access database can be split into multiple files: a back-end database that contains tables, and front-end databases that contain queries, forms, reports, macros, modules, and shortcuts. If you want to migrate a split database to [!INCLUDE[ssNoVersion](../../includes/ssnoversion-md.md)] or SQL Azure, add the front-end database to SSMA.
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## Permissions that are required by SSMA
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To migrate an Access database to [!INCLUDE[ssNoVersion](../../includes/ssnoversion-md.md)] or SQL Azure, the Users group and the Admin user must have Administer permissions. For information about how to migrate databases with workgroup protection, see [Preparing Access Databases for Migration](preparing-access-databases-for-migration-accesstosql.md).
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## Selecting Databases to Add
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If you want to add one or more databases to an SSMA project, and the files are all in one known location, you can add the files by using the following procedure.
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**To add individual database files**
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1. On the **File** menu, click **Add Databases**.
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2. In the **Open** dialog box, locate the folder that contains the database file or files.
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3. Select the files that you want to add, and then click **Open**.
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## Finding Databases to Add
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If you want to add multiple Access databases from different folders to an SSMA project, or you want to add a single file but have to find the file, you can follow these steps to locate one of more files and add them to the project.
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**To find and add databases**
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1. On the **File** menu, click **Find Databases**.
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2. In the Find Databases Wizard, enter the name of the drive, file path, or the UNC path that you want to search. Alternatively, click **Browse** to locate the drive or network folder.
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3. Click **Add** to add the location to the list.
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Repeat the previous two steps to add more search locations.
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4. Optionally, add search criteria to refine the list of databases that are returned.
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> [!IMPORTANT]
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> The **All or part of the file name** text box does not support wildcard characters.
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5. Click **Scan**.
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The Scan page appears. This shows the databases that have been found and the progress of the search. To stop the search, click **Stop**.
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6. On the Select Files page, select the databases that you want to add to the project.
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You can use the **Select All** and **Clear All** buttons at the top of the list to select or clear all databases. You can hold the CTRL key down to select multiple databases, or hold the SHIFT key down to select a range of databases.
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7. Click **Next**.
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8. On the Verify page, click **Finish**.
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## Browsing Access Metadata
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After you add an Access database to a project, the project metadata appears in Access Metadata Explorer. You can browse the hierarchy of databases and database objects in the explorer.
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**To browse metadata**
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1. In Access Metadata Explorer, expand **access-metabase**, and then expand **Databases**.
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2. Expand the database that you want to review, and then expand **Queries**.
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Notice the list of queries. If you select a query, an **SQL** tab and a **Properties** tab appear in the right pane.
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3. Expand **Tables** and then select a table.
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Notice that four tabs appear: **Table**, **Type Mapping**, **Properties**, and **Data**.
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4. Expand a table, expand **Keys**, and then select a key.
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The key properties appear in the right pane.
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5. Expand **Indexes**, and then select an index.
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The index properties appear in the right pane.
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## Refreshing Databases
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If an Access database changes after you add its file, you can update metadata from the Access database.
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**To update Access metadata**
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- In Access Metadata Explorer, right-click the database, and then select **Refresh from Database**.
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## Removing Databases
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You can remove an Access database from a project by following these steps.
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**To remove a database from a project**
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1. In Access Metadata Explorer, expand **access-metabase**, and then expand **Databases**.
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2. Right-click the database, and then select **Remove Database**.
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## Next Step
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The next step in the migration process is to [connect to SQL Server](../sybase/connecting-to-sql-server-sybasetosql.md).
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## See Also
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[Migrating Access Databases to SQL Server](migrating-access-databases-to-sql-server-azure-sql-db-accesstosql.md)
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[Creating and Managing Projects](creating-and-managing-projects-accesstosql.md)
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> An Access database can be split into multiple files: a back-end database that contains tables, and front-end databases that contain queries, forms, reports, macros, modules, and shortcuts. If you want to migrate a split database to [!INCLUDE [ssNoVersion](../../includes/ssnoversion-md.md)] or Azure SQL, add the front-end database to SSMA.
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## Permissions that are required by SSMA
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To migrate an Access database to [!INCLUDE [ssNoVersion](../../includes/ssnoversion-md.md)] or Azure SQL, the Users group and the Admin user must have Administer permissions. For information about how to migrate databases with workgroup protection, see [Prepare Access databases for migration](preparing-access-databases-for-migration-accesstosql.md).
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## Select databases to add
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If you want to add one or more databases to an SSMA project, and the files are all in one known location, you can add the files by using the following procedure.
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1. On the **File** menu, select **Add Databases**.
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1. In the **Open** dialog box, locate the folder that contains the database file or files.
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1. Select the files that you want to add, and then select **Open**.
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## Find databases to add
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If you want to add multiple Access databases from different folders to an SSMA project, or you want to add a single file but have to find the file, you can follow these steps to locate one of more files and add them to the project.
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1. On the **File** menu, select **Find Databases**.
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1. In the Find Databases Wizard, enter the name of the drive, file path, or the UNC path that you want to search. Alternatively, select **Browse** to locate the drive or network folder.
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1. Select **Add** to add the location to the list.
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Repeat the previous two steps to add more search locations.
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1. Optionally, add search criteria to refine the list of databases that are returned.
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> [!IMPORTANT]
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> The **All or part of the file name** text box doesn't support wildcard characters.
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1. Select **Scan**.
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The Scan page appears. This shows the databases that have been found and the progress of the search. To stop the search, select **Stop**.
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1. On the Select Files page, select the databases that you want to add to the project.
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You can use the **Select All** and **Clear All** buttons at the top of the list to select or clear all databases. You can hold the CTRL key down to select multiple databases, or hold the SHIFT key down to select a range of databases.
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1. Select **Next**.
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1. On the Verify page, select **Finish**.
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## Browse Access metadata
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After you add an Access database to a project, the project metadata appears in Access Metadata Explorer. You can browse the hierarchy of databases and database objects in the explorer.
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1. In Access Metadata Explorer, expand **Access-metabase**, and then expand **Databases**.
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1. Expand the database that you want to review, and then expand **Queries**.
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Notice the list of queries. If you select a query, a **SQL** tab and a **Properties** tab appear in the right pane.
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1. Expand **Tables** and then select a table.
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Four tabs appear: **Table**, **Type Mapping**, **Properties**, and **Data**.
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1. Expand a table, expand **Keys**, and then select a key.
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The key properties appear in the right pane.
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1. Expand **Indexes**, and then select an index.
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The index properties appear in the right pane.
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## Refresh databases
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If an Access database changes after you add its file, you can update metadata from the Access database.
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In Access Metadata Explorer, right-click the database, and then select **Refresh from Database**.
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## Remove databases
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You can remove an Access database from a project by following these steps.
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1. In Access Metadata Explorer, expand **Access-metabase**, and then expand **Databases**.
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1. Right-click the database, and then select **Remove Database**.
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## Related content
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- [Migrate Access databases to SQL Server and Azure SQL](migrating-access-databases-to-sql-server-azure-sql-db-accesstosql.md)
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- [Create and manage projects](creating-and-managing-projects-accesstosql.md)
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- [Connect to SQL Server](connecting-to-sql-server-accesstosql.md)

‎docs/ssma/access/advanced-object-selection-accesstosql.md‎

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---
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title: "Advanced Object Selection (AccessToSQL)"
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description: "Advanced Object Selection (AccessToSQL)"
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title: "Advanced Object Selection (AccessToSQL)"
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description: "Advanced Object Selection (AccessToSQL)"
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author: nilabjaball
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ms.author: niball
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ms.date: "01/19/2017"
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ms.reviewer: randolphwest
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ms.date: 12/30/2025
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ms.service: sql
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ms.subservice: ssma
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ms.topic: conceptual
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ms.topic: article
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ms.collection:
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- sql-migration-content
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f1_keywords:
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- "ssma.access.loadingobjectsdialog.f1"
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- "ssma.access.multichecktreeview.f1"
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---
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# Advanced Object Selection (AccessToSQL)
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The **Advanced Object Section** dialog box lets you filter database objects by using strings and substrings in the object name, and then select or deselect those objects. SSMA performs conversion and migration operations on selected objects.
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To access this dialog box, right-click in a metadata explorer, and then select **Advanced Object Selection**.
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When you first open the dialog box, click **Show Subcategories Items** to display all objects that have metadata loaded into the project. You can then enter strings to filter the items. For example, enter the string "company" to show all items with names that include that string.
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Before you use this dialog box, you might want to force SSMA to load all metadata by either converting schemas or saving the project.
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## Options
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**Check All Items**
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Adds a check mark next to all items. These items will be immediately selected in the metadata explorer.
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**Uncheck All Items**
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Removes the check mark next to all items. These items will be immediately cleared in the metadata explorer.
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**List View Mode**
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Displays filtered items in a list.
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**Table View Mode**
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Displays filtered items in a table.
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**Displayed Only Loaded Items**
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Toggles the display of categories or items. When this button is selected, SSMA shows all the items that match the filter criteria and those that were previously loaded. When this button is not selected, SSMA shows the category folders.
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**Filter**
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Enter the string you want to use to filter items. For example, to find all available items that contain the string "ID" in the item name, enter the string "ID" in the **Filter** box.
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If items match the filter criteria, the categories or items will appear as you type the string. To see the matching items, we recommend that you click the **Displayed Only Loaded Items** button.
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**Clear Filter**
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Clears the **Filter** box.
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# Advanced Object Selection (AccessToSQL)
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The **Advanced Object Section** dialog box lets you filter database objects by using strings and substrings in the object name, and then select or deselect those objects. SSMA performs conversion and migration operations on selected objects.
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To access this dialog box, right-click in a metadata explorer, and then select **Advanced Object Selection**.
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When you first open the dialog box, select **Show Subcategories Items** to display all objects that have metadata loaded into the project. You can then enter strings to filter the items. For example, enter the string "company" to show all items with names that include that string.
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Before you use this dialog box, you might want to force SSMA to load all metadata by either converting schemas or saving the project.
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## Options
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#### Check All Items
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Adds a check mark next to all items. These items are immediately selected in the metadata explorer.
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#### Uncheck All Items
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Removes the check mark next to all items. These items are immediately cleared in the metadata explorer.
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#### List View Mode
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Displays filtered items in a list.
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#### Table View Mode
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Displays filtered items in a table.
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#### Displayed Only Loaded Items
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Toggles the display of categories or items. When this button is selected, SSMA shows all the items that match the filter criteria and those that were previously loaded. When this button isn't selected, SSMA shows the category folders.
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#### Filter
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Enter the string you want to use to filter items. For example, to find all available items that contain the string "ID" in the item name, enter the string "ID" in the **Filter** box.
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If items match the filter criteria, the categories or items appear as you type the string. To see the matching items, we recommend that you select the **Displayed Only Loaded Items** button.
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#### Clear Filter
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Clears the **Filter** box.

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