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Anything Similar to Microsoft Access For iMac?

R

Ray&Paula

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 12, 2015
188
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Hi, I'm about to pull the trigger on a new maxed out iMac 5K for all by video editing needs. Coming from a PC using Microsoft Windows, I've been using Microsoft Access for my DJ/KJ data base. Moving to iMac, I would like something similar to it. Is there any Apple software that comes close? If not, can you suggest anything? Also, what is the best software, in your opinion, for Office? Thanks in advance, Ray
 
You'll get the Mac office suite included with the new Mac, but personally I still like to use Microsoft office for the Mac. I'm not sure what you can use to replace Access, though
 
Ray&Paula said:
Thanks for the replies........ I'll check those that you suggested. I don't see anywhere that an office suite is included for the new iMac. Thanks again, Ray
iMac Configuration:
http://store.apple.com/us/buy-mac/imac-retina?product=MF886LL/A&step=config#presoftware
Click to expand...

Apple now includes Pages, Numbers and Keynote with all Macs. I like Pages and Numbers but suspect users coming from Office won't. However, Keynote destroys Powerpoint utterly.

As far as databases, you're entering the 'Nix world with a Mac and there are lots to choose from. Various SQL based varieties generally, all free. MySQL offers tools to migrate your data out of access and there are other options that are just a google away. As others have said, LibreOffice includes the 'Base' tool which may also suit. Then there's the option of just running your Windows software on your Mac - you can do this by using a virtualisation tool like VMWare or VirtualBox and then you can just run the Windows tools you need directly on your Mac. If you've still got your Windows software licenses, you should just be able to install a fresh Windows in VirtualBox and then install Office in that. These virtual environments integrate nicely with the Mac (especially VMWare which I use) so they can even launch the Windows applications from Finder.
 
Thanks for the great info....... I can certainly see that it's a mixed bag for what I'm looking for. I'll probably try some free downloads to get a taste of some of these programs. I basically only use two things in Office Access and Word. It appears that I'll need to get one of the Office programs if I still want something like Word as well. Thanks again and keep chiming in......Ray ;)
 
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Yeah this is one area that really hasn't seen much actions. The 800lbs gorilla is FileMaker Pro but that generally is over kill for most people.
 
I hear ya...... I'll have to look at it a little deeper to see if it's worth it to me. At least there's some options out there.... Thanks, Ray :)
 
Ray&Paula said:
I hear ya...... I'll have to look at it a little deeper to see if it's worth it to me. At least there's some options out there.... Thanks, Ray :)
Click to expand...

If you are not afraid of a little programing and your requirements are not heavy, django could be a good fit:

https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.7/intro/tutorial01/

Is a developer framework that despite being very powerfull and the backbone of profesional-grade systems, could be used as a very easy CRUD database.

With writing this (the definition of a table)

PHP: 
class Customer(models.Model):
    code = models.CharField(max_length=20, blank=False)
    name = models.CharField(max_length=150, blank=False)
    address = models.TextField()
    phone = models.CharField(max_length=50, blank=False)

and this:

PHP: 
class CustomerAdmin(admin.ModelAdmin):
    list_display = ('code', 'name', 'phone')
    search_fields = 'code', 'name')
    ordering = ('name')

You get a full admin interface with searching. Django auto-magically make it work, and you don't need to write html/js/css for the auto-generated admin site. It is fairly customizable in ways that are close to the capabilities of Acces (and more). Django can work with postgresql (and the best way to install it: http://postgresapp.com/), mysql, sqlite and others.

The good thing of doing this is that you are not as limited as with a tool like acces, and exist TONS of info about django. The bad is that you need some programming skills if wanna step-out the automatic admin generation for more "complex" work. And that don't exist nothing like the Acces Report generator included on django or any other kind of software tool I can think of...
 
I've been using Windows Access since 1993 and Excel since 1990 (Mac) and 1993 (Windows). There's no real substitute on the Mac platform for Access, although Excel's file size has allowed deeper/larger data sources for a few years. I've managed to use Excel to provide a data resource for products that Access was the only option until a few years ago. I tried Filemaker but found it was a pretty weak option for larger data pools.

I've been "all in" on the Mac platform for over a decade and wished for a competent alternative for Access - UNIX is so much more powerful than anything on Windows - but I'm still using Access. Sigh.

My solution was to sign up for Office 365 Home and Office, so I get Access in that package. I use Parallels 10 and Windows 8.1, with Access 2013 installed on that partition. I bought a year's subscription to Office 365 via Amazon - a 40% discount over MS's cost.

I get Access 2013 for about $3 per month after the cost of Parallels ($50 upgrade) and Win 8.1 ($40). And I don't have to ask for the "Mac equivalent question" you did.

I also won't use Excel 2011 as a substitute for Excel 2013. I've been using Excel since version 4 in college. Excel 2013, and its database size may be what you're looking for. MS's newer iterations may be nice to use, but Excel 2013's file size (huge) may serve what you're looking for - it's working for me and my small company. Excel 2011 is too gimped and there's nothing I can think of on the Mac platform that can compete with MS's offerings on Windows.
 
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FileMaker is sure the full featured monster with which you could do almost anything. However, I have heard of a new personal database app for the Mac, but I haven't tested it. Screenshots look interesting though. Maybe it's sufficient for your needs... It's called Records. http://pushpopcorn.com/
 
Thanks for all the replies...... I will take a look at all of those you mentioned. I don't need anything thats too complex since my data base only consists of about 50,000 songs between music and karaoke. As most of you stated, there's nothing out there quite like Access, which is too bad. I appreciate all your help and I'm sure I'll find something that will work from what you mentioned. Thanks again, Ray :)
 
GreatDrok said:
However, Keynote destroys Powerpoint utterly.
Click to expand...

Off topic.

Before Office 2013 I would have agreed with you there. This is no longer the case. PowerPoint 2013 is far more versatile and advanced than Keynote. PowerPoint 2010 brought it to an equal match, the edge given to Keynote since it was a bit more elegant. But whilst Apple have been downgrading their software, Microsoft have been upgrading on a large scale. PowerPoint 2013 totally annihilates Keynote I'm afraid.
 
Thanks.... By all means, please keep chiming in. I appreciate all your thoughts along with pointing me to alternatives. Ray :)
 
roadbloc said:
Off topic.

Before Office 2013 I would have agreed with you there. This is no longer the case. PowerPoint 2013 is far more versatile and advanced than Keynote. PowerPoint 2010 brought it to an equal match, the edge given to Keynote since it was a bit more elegant. But whilst Apple have been downgrading their software, Microsoft have been upgrading on a large scale. PowerPoint 2013 totally annihilates Keynote I'm afraid.
Click to expand...

The most recent version of PowerPoint for the Mac is 2011 (which is basically 2010 for Windows) and I've used both it and KeyNote. Of the two, KeyNote is by far the better tool for putting together a set of slides. I'm less fond of the current version of KeyNote so I've kept 09 around too but the latest version does gain many points due to the integration between KeyNote for Mac and iOS because on my iPad I can see the next slide, I can control the presentation and I can even turn on a pointer or pen and annotate sides as I go. Seriously, it is really good. Heck, I can happily sit and edit slides on my iPhone or iPad and as it is all integrated with iCloud those changes are there on the Mac too. I'm sure MS has some similar features but they always seem to find a way to cripple things just a bit to get you to pay more. With the Mac, all this stuff comes with the machine.
 
Thanks for the great info..... At least there are some alternatives other than MS Word. Thanks again, Ray ;)
 
Depends on your use with Access. If you're into the full DB part and require large tables with good/basic SQL integration to pull and manipulate date, I'd recommend SQLPro for SQLite. MySQL also works well and SequelPro is a great free interface for it.
 
Thanks.... Access is something that I have used for several years which will be missed. I will look into SequelPro for an alternative. Thanks for the help. Ray
 
Tap Forms

You might look at Tap Forms Organizer and Secure Database. It is easy to use with little/no learning curve. It has excellent ratings, especially the latest version. My requirements are simple - I use it for books and home inventory, etc... Perhaps it will meet your needs
 
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It's very, very, VERY "lightweight", but if you just need a "flat-file" database for storing information, there is a Mac application named "iData" that is useful...
 
mailbuoy said:
You might look at Tap Forms Organizer and Secure Database. I use it for books and home inventory, etc... Perhaps it will meet your needs
Click to expand...

Fishrrman said:
It's very, very, VERY "lightweight", but if you just need a "flat-file" database for storing information, there is a Mac application named "iData" that is useful...
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestions.... I will definitely look into them. Your help is very much appreciated. Thanks, Ray ;)
 
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