Database that will work with mac and pc?

misskool

Hi all,

I need to design a database for work, we're getting a stupid number of excel files related to one project for different things and it's taking forever to reconcile all the data.

Work uses PCs running Windows 7 and I have a macbook on 10.6 at home. I could get work to buy a laptop and then have ms access but I'm just wondering if there is a database that will work for both macs and pcs?

Can afford to pay up to £300 for the software. Any ideas anyone?

esuhl

OpenOffice/LibreOffice Base?

Or buy a copy of Windows and MS Office set up a virtual machine on your Mac?

weavedribbon

I have microsoft office for Mac on my MacBook and at work we use windows 7 based computers with ms office.never had a problem using/moving files between them (excel files) so as you have some money available for software it might be worth considering.

bengalknights

Office for mac and MS Office Access should both work seamlessly with eachother for databases.

misskool

microsoft access doesn't have a mac version. we have to stop using excel files as we have a large number of samples, various studies and need to organise and coordinate it all together. At the moment, I have 3 excel files for one set of samples.

Hence why we might need to get another piece of software. I might just have to get parallels and install windows on my macbook unless anyone can think of anything else.

timbim_2

OpenOffice base connected to a mySQL or postgreSQL server. Free and keeps all the data somewhere sensible and easily backed up. Especially postgres. In fact, you could point the PC's with access at that database, and open office on anything that doesn't have/won't support MS Access. Can even do dynamic web pages from it for easy interfacing with smartphones, remote access etc.

zagubov

misskool wrote: »

Hi all,

I need to design a database for work ..... I'm just wondering if there is a database that will work for both macs and pcs?

Can afford to pay up to £300 for the software. Any ideas anyone?

I think the reason you're hitting a brick wall is because Macs had a separate database programme called FileMakerPro i which was made by the Apple's software house Claris Corporation, now re-branded as http://www.filemaker.com/.

Microsoft never bothered to compete with this by porting Access to the Mac platform. It should work on both macs and pcs. It looks as though it might cost a few hundred quid though.

Cheaper might be to download the free NeoOffice software for mac- it's a bit like openoffice and opens MS Office programmes for mac - and even databases too. I've not had a chance to check these out but the NeoOffcie one won't cost anything to try (or even keep using). It's at www.neooffice.org

Good luck!