Unable to add data from personal geodatabases in ArcGIS Pro

Description

In ArcGIS Pro, personal geodatabases (.mdb) are not displayed in the Add Data window when attempting to add data to a project.

The image below shows only a file geodatabase is displayed in the Add Data window, and only feature classes or tables stored in the file geodatabase can be added.

Cause

Personal geodatabases are not supported in 64-bit ArcGIS applications such as ArcGIS Pro and it is not possible to use or edit data stored in personal geodatabases in ArcGIS Pro. Therefore, personal geodatabases are not displayed when attempting to add data to an ArcGIS Pro project.

Solution or Workaround

Although personal geodatabases are not supported in ArcGIS Pro, it is possible to connect to the personal geodatabases and view the data by creating an Object Linking and Embedding Database (OLE DB) connection. This creates read-only connections to access tabular data sources from the personal geodatabases.

1. Open the project in ArcGIS Pro.
2. On ribbon, click the Insert tab. In the Project group, click Connections > Database > New OLE DB Connection.

3. In the Data Link Properties dialog box, on the Provider tab, select the appropriate provider based on the Microsoft Access Database Engine driver installed and click Next.
   • Select Microsoft Office 12.0 Access Database Engine OLE DB Provider if the Microsoft Access Database Engine 2010 Redistributable driver is installed.
   • Select Microsoft Office 16.0 Access Database Engine OLE DB Provider if the Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016 Redistributable driver is installed

4. On the Connection tab, for Data Source, specify the personal geodatabase path and click Test Connection to validate the connection information.
5. Click OK.

Note:
To copy the personal geodatabase path on Microsoft Windows, open the ArcGIS project folder in File Explorer. Right-click the file and select Copy as path.

The read-only tabular data stored in the personal geodatabase from the OLE DB connection is added to the Catalog pane.