The MySQL Migration Toolkit requires access to the system tables of a Microsoft Access database for the purpose of reverse-engineering. By default, read access to the system tables of an Access database is restricted for external applications.

To enable access to the system tables by the MySQL Migration Toolkit, open the database in Microsoft Access and choose the Options entry of the Tools menu. Within the Options dialog, select the View tab and look for the Show section:

Figure 13.1. The Show Section

Check the box next to the System objects option and close the options dialog. System tables for the database should now be present:

Figure 13.2. The System Objects

Note the presence of the various MSys tables.

After you expose the system objects to the MySQL Migration Toolkit, you must also grant permission to access the objects. Choose the User and Group Permissions entry from the Security section of the Tools menu:

Figure 13.3. Granting Access to the System Objects

Enable the Administer permission for both the MSysObjects, MSysQueries, and MSysRelationships tables. You will need to click the Apply button after enabling each table and before moving to the next table.

After completing these steps, you can reverse engineer the schema in your Access database using the MySQL Migration Toolkit.