Need advice on understanding a 3rd party database

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I have to create reports from an Access database used in a commercial application. The backend uses Access but the front end does not.

The vendor does not document the data or provide any support for that. The database has over one hundred tables and thousands of fields.

I'm thinking I'll create small transactions in the application and then study the database to see what has changed. But this seems overwhelming considering how many tables and fields there are. So I'm looking for advice on how to approach this.

I have a FoxPro background but I'm new to Access.

 

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What I'm looking for is a tool like Total Access Detective which will show me where data is being changed. But they don't have a trial and I can't tell from their online demo if it meets my needs.

I tried CDB Comparator, which is great. But it's $250 and I can't justify the cost.

I also tried CompareDataWiz and Compare Database but they both fall short.

So I'm looking for another program or a way to do this on my own.

 

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There is no way to determine this by simply examining tables. You would need to analyze the application. Tables don't change data. Applications change data.

My idea is to save a copy of the database. Then I would perform an operation in the application. Then I would use a tool to compare the two instances of the database to see what has changed. It's the best way I can think of to figure this out.