Database Compare 2016 not found

Question

I've been using Access for a very long time. For quite a few years now I've used FMS Access Detective to compare two mdb or adp files to find differences. Not table structure differences, but differences with forms, reports, modules, etc.

I just moved to Windows 10 Pro (from 7) and Office 2016 Pro (from 2010). I was just poking around online to see if there was something out there other than FMS. I'm not a big fan. Their licensing strategy is obnoxious. I ended up here. The page says, "If you’re using Office 2013 Professional Plus, Microsoft Office 2016 Professional, or Office 365 ProPlus, you have Database Compare." So that sounded cool. But I don't have it. Not that I can find anyway. I searched all over my system for it. I even tried reinstalling Office to see if I missed checking off some option that I didn't notice. Nothing. Can anyone tell me where this is or if the info on the page above is wrong? I don't have 365. Just a local installation of Office 2016 Pro.

Just in case anyone might suggest them, I use Beyond Compare by Scooter Software for other comparisons and from a post on their forum it seems like there's a way to use their tools for this but I couldn't get that to work. I also have a VS 2017 Pro license but I doubt there's anything in there for comparing mdb/adb files. Just throwing it out there in case someone knows.

This is such a tremendously deep pitfall of Access and the "container" style system. I've been moving away from it slowly for a few years now. Cannot wait be done with it!

Thanks,

Keith

Answer 1

For me, it's not in Access.  In windows click on the start button -> All Program -> Microsoft Office 2016 Tools and there you should find the Database Compare 2016

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Daniel Pineault, 2010-2017 Microsoft MVP
Professional Support: http://www.cardaconsultants.com
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Answer 2

Yeah, it's not in Access. The page I referenced above told me that.

Windows 10 Pro doesn't have that kind of start menu. And that's the first place I looked. Like I said above, "I searched all over my system for it." Anywhere obvious, I already looked.

I'm asking for non-obvious locations. And it doesn't show up in Apps & Features because Word, Excel, etc don't either, just Office. So I have no way of knowing if it even installed.

Answer 3

I have Windows 10 and Access 2016 and it's located here for me:

Start - Microsoft Office 2016 Tools - Database Compare

or if I use Cortana/Search and type "Compare" it is the first item in the list.

Answer 4

Yeah, well something's clearly screwed up in my Office installation then. Those are the first things I tried before my O.P.. Microsoft really sucks. Every day for decades, it's something. >:(

Answer 5

I had a copy of Office 2016 installed in a Windows 10 Pro VM also and it wasn't there either. This copy is installed on my main W10 OS so it clearly wasn't a VM issue. No idea.

Answer 6

And what happened to installing office where it gives you options? I mean it just installs everything without asking you what you want to do. What's up with that? "Run as administrator" makes no difference. I found this. Are they joking? You have to create an XML file in order to have installation options? Can I sit down and have a conversation with the person who came up with that idiotic .idea?????

.

.... oh, never mind. That doesn't even work for me. That's for 365 installations. Geeze.

Answer 7

Hi keithrh,

First I want to confirm with you that are you able to find MS Office 2016 Tools in Start menu?

If yes, Try to expand it, you will see the first option is Database compare.

If you are not able to find it then try to post the snapshot of your Office version.

It will help us to narrow down the issue.

Regards

Deepak

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Answer 8

I understand it's not in your menu, and you searched for "compare", but have you looked in the office folder for the executable?

This is the path to it on my system: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Root\Office16\DCF\DATABASECOMPARE.EXE"

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Larry

Answer 9

Yes. That's the second thing I did. I use Agent Ransack to search for files. It's a far better search tool than what's built into Windows. I searched on "compare" and "database" in my entire C drive and there was nothing related to this. I also looked in the Office16 folder with my eyeballs and it's not there.

Why is this Deepak guy posting a screenshot of what I already posted showing that I don't' have it???????? Do people not read posts before responding? And I already said I'm running Office 2016 Pro (32 bit) on Windows 10 Pro (64 bit). I'm guessing he read my subject and maybe my O.P. but none of the followup messages in here? :(

And why does Office 2016 not give us installation options? I just spent 1/2 hour on a chat with MS support only to find out they took it out and he couldn't tell me why they would do that other than "it's new!!!!"

Answer 10

Hi keithrh,

You had mentioned that,"Why is this Deepak guy posting a screenshot of what I already posted showing that I don't' have it???????? Do people not read posts before responding?"

You can check the time of your post and my post. both replies have small gap of time. So when you post it, I was also replying and not aware about that you are also posting on the same thread.

I try to find any information about it and find that it is get installed by default when you install the office.

So i did not find any documentation to install it later or separately.

You can try to provide your feedback to Access User Voice regarding this issue.

Regards

Deepak

 

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MSDN Community Support
Please remember to click "Mark as Answer" the responses that resolved your issue, and to click "Unmark as Answer" if not. This can be beneficial to other community members reading this thread. If you have any compliments or complaints to MSDN Support, feel free to contact [e-mail].

Answer 11

There's a 24 minute gap between the replies you're talking about. LOL. That's HUGE when it comes to this sort of thing. :) ;) :P

Anyway, I think it's because I have PRO and not PRO PLUS. It's not entirely clear but I think that's it. The edition comparisons on the MS page regarding Office don't make this entirely clear.  Otherwise I'd probably have bought PRO PLUS. Just another annoyance from MS. SO many of them.

Like this forum. Did you know that when you type "MS Access Forums" in Google you get this one. But when you go there, there's no obvious way to log into their forums??? I've puzzled about that for a long time. Seriously. What is wrong with this company? I mean put a damn "LOGIN" button on EVERY PAGE unless you're already logged in. You have to click "Ask a question" to get to the login page. Who writes code like that if not just to annoy people? Ugh. >:( >:( >:(

Answer 12

Hi keithrh,

You had mentioned that,"I think it's because I have PRO and not PRO PLUS. It's not entirely clear but I think that's it. The edition comparisons on the MS page regarding Office don't make this entirely clear"

I agree with you, Based on my search in all the documentation regarding database Compare, I find that Office Pro Plus version is only mentioned there and Office Pro version is not mentioned anywhere.

So it looks like these are the additional features available in Office Pro Plus version.

Other thing you had mentioned about forum login issue.

For this issue, I suggest you to create a new thread in forum below.

MSDN Forum Issues Forum

Regards

Deepak

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MSDN Community Support
Please remember to click "Mark as Answer" the responses that resolved your issue, and to click "Unmark as Answer" if not. This can be beneficial to other community members reading this thread. If you have any compliments or complaints to MSDN Support, feel free to contact [e-mail].

Answer 13

Well thank you people very much in this conversetion being so clear abount the issue, i searched google for the problem got this place thanks god i didn't have to spent more time on searching my computer for somthing ain't exisit, and that there is no option of installing it, it looks like keith has a copy of my mind about a year ago, but i never could express my self so clearly and detailed also regarding beind Microsoft harrrrrrrr...d life. 

please someone can tell me now what can i do to compare 2 version of msaccess database, i have this client that kape on working 8.6 version and 4 month aftere i released him 8.8 version that was many bug fixes, but also maybee table and querry structures differences , and i need now to sychronze the data to the new version i have to ...... pleas ant sggestions?