VBAExtractor/docs/plans/2026-05-11-access-support-design.md

Access (.accdb) VBA Code Export/Import Support Design

Summary

Extend the existing extract_vba.py and import_vba.py to support Access .accdb files alongside Excel .xlsm files. The file type is auto-detected by extension via a unified TARGET_FILE env variable.

Key COM Differences

Dimension	Excel (.xlsm)	Access (.accdb)
ProgID	Excel.Application	Access.Application
Open	Workbooks.Open(path)	OpenCurrentDatabase(path)
VBA Project	workbook.VBProject	CurrentDb().VBE.VBProjects(1)
Close	workbook.Close() + Quit()	CloseCurrentDatabase() + Quit()
Module types	Standard/Class/Document/Forms	Standard/Class only

Changes

.env

• Replace TARGET_XLSM_FILE with TARGET_FILE (supports .xlsm and .accdb)

extract_vba.py

• Replace TARGET_XLSM_FILE with TARGET_FILE
• Add extract_vba_modules_access_com() method to VBAExtractor
• Update main() to detect file type by extension and auto-select COM method
• Skip olevba option for .accdb files (unsupported)

import_vba.py

• Replace TARGET_XLSM_FILE with TARGET_FILE
• Add import_vba_access() method to VBAImporter
• Update main() to detect file type by extension and route accordingly

Out of Scope

• Access Forms/Reports VBA code (user doesn't need it)
• olevba for Access files (unsupported)
• Directory structure changes (Modules/ClassModules sufficient)