Have you watched Richards Security Seminar? Richard's show several ways to bypass security issues, for Access is not the strongest when it comes to security, so you may be able to get access. Nothing is certain but it might be worth a try. Are you going to upgrade your Access?  HTH John

I had a Service.mdb that I hat tot convert to an accdb file by by importing all of the Table, Queries, Forms, and Reports and can again export to XLS and PDF.

John I have not watched the Security Seminar.  But, we did have a local Access developer try to "break" into it and was unsuccessful. (He said is was programmed well and very secure.)  We've tried to buy the rights to the program from the Developer, but he won't sell it.  This is a critical piece of software to our business and we can't find anything that will come close to doing what the "SIMPLE" database can do.  It is getting old and we need to have a plan B in  place when and if MS does something stupid and we can't use it at all.

Dave We do not access to all that.  See also my reply to John Davy.

Chris this comes up a lot with older databases. If the file is an MDE or locked MDB, that explains why you can't get inside to fix the export routines. Office updates have also broken some of the old export methods, so without access to the VBA there's not much you can change directly.

Can you get into the database by holding down the Shift key and doing the bypass trick?

Long term, you really need either migration or recovery. If you have legal rights to the program (meaning it was built for you and not just licensed), there are reputable services that will verify ownership and then decompile or unlock the database into an editable state. One of the best known is run by Wayne Phillips, a Microsoft MVP. He has a service where he can convert an MDE or locked MDB file to one you can actually edit if you can prove ownership (which is a good thing).

The other option is a rebuild. In my experience, many "simple" databases are quicker to recreate than to crack open. A competent developer might be able to rebuild it in a few hours. If you want to post some screenshots of the main forms and reports, we could give you pointers on what would be involved. You could even try to hire a developer from the Access Developer Network to assist you.

Either way, you're not stuck - there are solid paths forward.

Richard I tried the Shift key trick, but it just opens to a blank screen of nothingness.  When I said "simple" I meant that as Access was a "simple" program (according to all those other DB developers).  This is not a simple program, very complex.   I will try to share a few screen shots.  I've been trying to get ownership, but that has been a daunting task.

Yeah, Access is definitely one of those programs that you can pick up and start using in an afternoon and still take a lifetime to master. I still don't know everything there is to know about Access, and I've been working with it for over thirty years.

It definitely looks in depth, but it's not impossible for a skilled developer to reproduce. I could probably build something like this myself in a couple of days. I cover most of what you'd need to build this yourself in my developer course. If you've got the time to go through all those lessons and learn it yourself.