Thanks for all reply.
I will definitely give a shot to FileMaker.

Well, not quite accurate. Here is 3.1 for PPC (still requires 10.4)

PPC version of OpenOffice 3.1

This is the file you want: OOo_3.1.0rc2_20090424_MacOSXPowerPC_install.dmg

Or if you want 3.2, then follow this link:

PPC Open Office 3.2
(Scroll down to find the PPC versions)

Just joined this forum so pardon me if this is not the proper way to inject my question/s.

Having switched from PC to Mac I'm looking for a way to use some Access databases I began years ago for reference in the field. AHUNTER3's response to this thread really caught my eye in that s/he renewed my interest in FileMaker as an alternative to Access. I'm currently running Access on my Mac through a virtual machine which noticeably but not prohibitively slows down my Mac. I've previously been told that FM will not import/convert Access files hence my looking elsewhere for a solution. I've also tried to export the Access db's to Excel (or was it importing from Access???). At any rate the result wasn't pretty. Don't know if I missed a step, or did not do something else correctly, but it was another avenue blocked nonetheless.

FYI, these Access databases I made are very basic and have virtually no bells or whistles. They are strictly to enable me to look up statutes and past Court decisions ("case law") while in the field, preferably stored on a smart phone or (I'm gonna show my age here) a PDA since I'm really not too crazy about lugging my MacBook with me in the field. These db's are very text heavy and it seemed (to me anyway) that Excel choked on some of the rather lengthy field (cell) entries. BTW, I made use of these db's on a PDA (many moons ago) using third party apps like HanDBase and their ilk. I'm hoping the iPhone or Droid X environments (which I MIGHT switch to when my contract comes up for renewal) has the ability to work with Access or FM or whatever I can find to get me off Access since it's so darned proprietary.

I would appreciate any suggestions AHUNTER3, or any other forum member, cares to offer.

Thanks for your time.

SDGardella

Bento (from Filemaker, Inc) works just fine and I think would be an excellent choice for home use or other small tasks like tracking reservations for a charity event. It is not Filemaker, but for a home user tracking personal stuff it is fine.

Does pull downs, checkboxes, counts and calculations, easy forms creation and can be shared on a network.

Easy to learn, easy to use (compared to Access or Filemaker).

An Access database will consist of anywhere from one to i number of tables. EACH TABLE has to be exported separately as an Excel document and then imported into FileMaker.

If the Access db contains more than one table, they are presumably related. You need to establish that relationship in FileMaker, it doesn't "just happen".

You can't import "what screens look like" nor can you import "reports" and visual-basic scripted routines and other "verbs"; you need to build them in FileMaker's scriptmaker instead.

You said your Access db was simple so despite these limitations it should not be too bad.

Bento is a cute but rather seriously limited db. Not particularly flexible. An improvement over (for example) the db modules in Microsoft Works or AppleWorks but short by several thousand candlepower of what you can do in FileMaker.