The objective is to replace the query designer of access with a similar tool. This is because access have known liminations with the size of the MDB files that make it inadequate for running enteprise-size or huge databases.

I have to conclude that there is no winner at all. The tool I was searching need to allow the migration of data between databases, permit to connect with existing Access databases and allow to store the results of a query in a new table.

This last point, the storing of the data in a new query, where the most disapointing, because I didn't found a tool that could achieve this. This could be because a match between the different data types is needed and no one can guarantee that it will work in any case.

Solutions??? My boss have told me that the solution should come from an ETL tool (Extraction, Transform and Load). I will look over three possible tools:

• Power Center
• Data Stage
• Pentaho Kettle Project

To find out what whould be the correct tools, I've search in codeplex, google and sourceforge for the most suitable products. And in the next section I've put those that more or less appear to be “active”, to satisfy the needs of users without great knowledge of technology and focused in getting results instead of getting an sql made.

• Webpage: http://www.activequerybuilder.com/download.html
• Price: 360$ per licence. Discounts for big quantities.

Does it connect to Oracle and Access?? How good is the query tool? Does the query tool allow to export the query as sql? Supports the creation of batch jobs??

• Webpage: http://www.basenow.com
• Price: starting from 49$, profesional edition 99$

My Impression

Easy installation. All the application in english, not good.

Professional appearance.

Doesn't work with big databases. I am testing the application with an Oracle database of 125 tables and takes years just to open the list of available tables. Application hanged when tried to open a table.

• Webpage: http://www.dbqwikedit.com
• Price: 40$

My Impression

Easy installer. Auto-updater available, you can forget about the hassle of checking for updates from time to time.

Professional appearance.

Doesn't work with big databases. I am testing the application with an Oracle database of thousands of tables and when I try to open the table list I got an error.

Everytime I try to open a table it fails.

The trial version is only for 1 day.

• Webpage: http://www.activedbsoft.com/overview-querytool.html
• Price: 22euros

My Impression

Very fast installation.

Quickly connection to big databases, with a feature to filter databases. It took the list of tables in a glimpse. And it refreshes the list while allows operation of the application.

It has an option to set the database as read only, an interesting feature that could avoid those nasty problems I got with other software when they try to open the tables for modify.

It doesn't allow to store the result of the query as a file, or as a new table, to make queries of an existing query.

It doesn't allow to launch batch jobs.

• Webpage: http://www.querytool.com
• Price: 180 euros

My Impression

I were unable to connect to the oracle database. Probably a bad design in the connection interface make it difficult to achieve.

Location of tables very quickly, you don't have to wait until the list is filled.

Can't save the sql into a text file, and cannot store the result table into a new table (for make further queries).

• Webpage: http://sourceforge.net/projects/sqleonardo/
• Price: free

My Impression

It's a java application that uses the power of JDBC to connect to many databases and ease the creation of queries.

However, it is somewhat difficult to install -you have to install the jar file and provide access to it across the system- and you have to provide the necessary drivers for the application.

It takes some time to create a query, but finally it does the job.

It doesn't have support for jobs.

My impression is that this program is a tool to help developers to create their own queries, and doesn't allow to use this query to exploit the data as a basis for further queries or other things.

• Webpage: http://sourceforge.net/projects/myquerybuilder/

Only for mysql. It is a web application, language php.

• Webpage: http://sourceforge.net/projects/qbevisual/
• Price: Free

My Impression

It seems that the qurery builder tool is a bit rare, so I decided to evaluate this the last.

• Webpage: http://sourceforge.net/projects/sqlmaster/
• Price: Free

My Impression

It only works with mysql. Furthermore, the query builder doesn't work very well…

http://sourceforge.net/projects/vsqlbuilder/ - discontinued, use instead pgAdmin Query Builder. It's only for postgres.

http://www.originlab.com/index.aspx?go=Products/Origin/ImportingData/DatabaseAccess - I've had a look at it and it seems to be more of the same.

Curious:

http://www.ajaxquerybuilder.com/