Connecting LibreOffice Base to an Access Database via UCanAccess (JDBC)

[FrancoisSauterey]

Hey,
half a day and can't open my msAccess database.
I've unzip the UCanAccess-5.0.1.bin.zip zip file and put the ucanaccess-5.0.1.jar file in /usr/local/share/UCanAccess-5.0.1.bin/
Then I do like https://superuser.com/questions/1626719/open-an-access-database-in-libreoffice-base
But when I test the class net.ucanaccess.jdbc.UcanloadDriver, I get the error message "impossible de charger le pilote JDBC at .dbaccess/source/ui/dlg/sqlmessage.cxx:571"
I don't found any idea for solve the problem.
What's wrong ????

[spannm]

Hi @FrancoisSauterey,

I understand it can be frustrating when a setup doesn't work as expected.

However, please note that the version you are using (5.0.1) is quite old and predates my current maintenance of the UCanAccess JDBC driver project.

As a maintainer of open-source software, I invest my time and effort for free to keep this tool alive for everyone.

To resolve your issue, please consider the following:

• Version Mismatch: The version 5.0.1 you are using is no longer actively supported in this fork. I recommend updating to the latest version (currently 5.1.5), which includes numerous fixes and fewer dependencies.
• Missing Dependencies: The error "impossible de charger le pilote JDBC" in LibreOffice might be related to UCanAccess requiring several dependency JARs (hsqldb, jackcess) to be present in the classpath, not just the main ucanaccess jar.

cheers
MSP

[FrancoisSauterey]

Thanks a lot dear Markus,
In fact, I've downloaded the zip file from https://ucanaccess.sourceforge.net.
Now I've downloaded the latest version on your github zone...

But I suck, and I don't not what to do whit this; there are no instructions on how to create the .jar file.

Furthermore, I've download the latest version of hsqldb and jackcess files, and I've (of course) the same problem.

Regards

[spannm]

Hi @FrancoisSauterey,

I remember some discussion about reading MS Access DBs from LibreOffice in
Issue #7: Complete bin.zip distribution for download

cheers
MSP

[FrancoisSauterey]

Hi Markus,
I apologise, but I just can't seem to get it to work!
I thought I had done everything right, but it definitely won't work.
I downloaded, I think, the astest version of hsqldb, jackcess, and of course of ucanaccess.
1/ Add the class paths:

• /usr/local/share/UCanAccess/hsqldb-jdk8.jar
• /usr/local/share/UCanAccess/jackcess-5.1.2.jar
• /usr/local/share/UCanAccess/ucanaccess-5.1.5.jar
  2/ Connect to an existing database
  -> JDBC
  then
  -> jdbc:///home/fs/File/bdd.accdb
  -> JDBC driver class: net.ucanaccess.jdbc.UcanloadDriver
  Then I click on the "Test class" button...
  Unfortunately, it's always the same message:
  Unable to load JDBC driver .at./dbaccess/source/ui/dlg/sqlmessage.cxx:571

What's wrong?

On my zara Mint machine, I've this packages 👍 liblibreoffice-java 4:24.2.7-0ubuntu0.24.04.4
libreoffice-java-common 4:24.2.7-0ubuntu0.24.04.4
default-jre 2:1.21-75+exp1
default-jre-headless 2:1.21-75+exp1
openjdk-11-jre:amd64 11.0.30+7-1ubuntu124.04
openjdk-11-jre-headless:amd64 11.0.30+7-1ubuntu124.04
openjdk-21-jre:amd64 21.0.10+7-124.04
openjdk-21-jre-headless:amd64 21.0.10+7-124.04

[spannm]

Please use the correct driver class name (FQCN):

net.ucanaccess.jdbc.UcanloadDriver → net.ucanaccess.jdbc.UcanaccessDriver

[spannm]

Title changed from:
LibreOffice and UCanAccess : impossible de charger le pilote JDBC at .dbaccess/source/ui/dlg/sqlmessage.cxx:571
to:
Connecting LibreOffice Base to an Access Database via UCanAccess (JDBC)

[spannm]

Connecting LibreOffice Base to an Access Database via UCanAccess (JDBC)

This guide explains how to use UCanAccess to open a Microsoft Access .mdb or .accdb file in LibreOffice Base (on Linux).

Prerequisites

• LibreOffice Base installed
• Java 11 or later installed and enabled in LibreOffice
• Latest UCanAccess Uber Jar (e.g. ucanaccess-5.1.5-uber.jar) downloaded

Enable Java in LibreOffice

Tools → Options → LibreOffice → Advanced → check "Use a Java runtime environment" and select a JRE.

---

Step 1 — Register the JAR in LibreOffice

Go to Tools → Options → LibreOffice → Advanced → Class Path and add ucanaccess-5.1.5-uber.jar.

Click OK, then fully restart LibreOffice (close all windows and kill any background process).

---

Step 2 — Create a New Database Connection

1. File → New → Database
2. Select "Connect to an existing database"
3. Choose "JDBC" from the dropdown
4. Click Next

---

Step 3 — Enter the JDBC Connection Details

⚠️ Critical: LibreOffice automatically prepends jdbc: to the URL you enter.
Do not type jdbc: yourself — it will result in an invalid double prefix jdbc:jdbc:ucanaccess:... that silently fails at connection time.

Field	Value to enter
JDBC URL	ucanaccess:///path/to/your/database.mdb
JDBC Driver Class	net.ucanaccess.jdbc.UcanaccessDriver

Example URL (enter without jdbc: prefix):

ucanaccess:///home/spannm/projects/ucanaccess/toto.mdb;memory=false

Click "Test Class" — you should see:

"The JDBC driver was loaded successfully."

Then click Next.

---

Step 4 — Test the Connection

On the "Set up User Authentication" screen:

• Leave User name blank
• Leave Password required unchecked
• Click "Test Connection"

You should see a success confirmation.

---

Step 5 — Save and Proceed

1. Click Next
2. Choose whether to register the database in LibreOffice
3. Click Finish and optionally save the .odb (OpenDocument Database) file

🏁🏁 You can now browse tables, run queries, and build forms against your Access database.

---

Things to check if the connection fails

Check	Notes
No jdbc: prefix in the URL	The most common pitfall — see Step 3 above. Inspect content.xml inside the .odb (it is a ZIP) and make sure the stored URL reads jdbc:ucanaccess:..., not jdbc:jdbc:ucanaccess:...
File path is correct	Use an absolute path; verify with ls -la /path/to/file.mdb
File is readable	The user running LibreOffice must have read permission on the database file
JAR is registered	Classpath changes require a full LibreOffice restart — run pkill -f soffice if needed

 

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