FAQ

Does PyAccessKit need Microsoft Access? For tables, relationships, queries and data, you need either Microsoft Access or the Access Runtime with a Python of the same bitness. For forms, VBA modules and text import/export, you need full Microsoft Access. pyaccesskit doctor tells you what works on your machine.

Will it close the Access window I'm working in? No. PyAccessKit always starts its own hidden Access instance and never attaches to one that is running. It ends only processes it started, identified by PID, creation time and executable.

What happens if my script crashes? The Access process PyAccessKit started is in a Windows job object that ends it together with Python. For a new database built with create(), the half-built file is discarded. If something is ever left over, pyaccesskit cleanup ends it.

Why is my table named Name/Date/Order flagged? They are Access reserved words or built-in property names. They work only when every SQL statement and expression writes them in brackets, and they clash with form properties. Use CustomerName, OrderDate, SortOrder… The warning points at the line of your code that used the name.

My query works in Access but fails from Python with "Undefined function". Queries that Python runs go through DAO outside the Access user interface. There, Access-application functions such as Nz(), and your own VBA functions, do not exist. Use engine functions: IIf(IsNull(x), 0, x) instead of Nz(x, 0). Forms can still use Nz and VBA functions.

Can I build reports, subforms or ribbons? Not yet: see the roadmap. You can import report and macro text exported from Access (db.objects.import_text), or use db.raw.access for one-off automation.

How do I change a column's type? Access can't change a column type in place through DAO without risking data loss. Create a new column (or table), copy the data with an UPDATE or INSERT INTO … SELECT, then drop the old one. Automated migrations are planned with plan/apply.

Does it work with .mdb files? You can open, inspect and change them. New databases are always .accdb.

Can I use it from several threads? One session per thread. COM objects belong to the thread that created them. For parallel work, use separate processes, each with its own session and file.

Can AI coding assistants use PyAccessKit? Yes, and the library is designed for it. See Building with AI agents.