Creating a DSN in the ODBC Data Source Administrator

Context

If you are using Microsoft Windows, you must first create and configure the ODBC connection to your data source by means of the ODBC Data Source Administrator before you can create the ODBC source system in the PCo Management Console. To do so, you must create a Data Source Name (DSN) for the data source in the ODBC Data Source Administrator.

Procedure

You can start the ODBC Data Source Administrator from the start menu under Run odbcad32.exe .

Note

If you are using a 64-bit version of Windows, you must ensure that you are using the ODBC Data Source Administrator in the 32-bit version. A 32-bit version and a 64-bit version of the ODBC Data Source Administrator are available in the 64-bit version of Windows7. In this Windows version, you start the 64-bit version of the ODBC Data Source Administrator from the start menu with Run. The System Data Source Name entries that are created using the 64-bit version are not taken into account by PCo, however.

The valid 32-bit version is located in the subfolder SysWOW64 in the Windows directory; for example, under C:\Windows\SysWOW64\odbcad32.exe.

If you create User Data Source Name entries instead of System Data Source Name entries, you can also use the 64-bit version of the ODBC Data Source Administrator.

After the odbcad32.exe is started, the ODBC Data Source Administrator dialog box is displayed.
You must add a Data Source Name for the database that you want to use as the data source. The following types are available:
- User DSN
  
  On the User DSN tab, you can add a user-specific Data Source Name (DSN) for the data source of your choice. If you are using a User DSN, a connection is only created for the Windows user who is logged on and only that user can see and use this connection.
- System DSN
  
  You can add an entry for the data source of your choice on the System DSN tab. All users who log on to the system can then see and use the System DSN.
Note

You can create a User DSN and a System DSN with the same name. In this case, only the User DSN is displayed in the PCo Management Console; the System DSN with the same name is not displayed. For that reason, you must not use the same name for a User DSN and a System DSN. Duplicated names are not possible on the User DSN or System DSN tabs. The ODBC Data Source Administrator issues a message if an attempt is made to use duplicated names.
You have to select an ODBC driver for the data source. The ODBC drivers are provided by each database provider. For that reason, the dialog for configuring the ODBC connection can be built up differently.

Example

Example for creating a System DSN for an Excel file that you want PCo to use as the data source:

In the ODBC Data Source Administrator, click the System DSN tab.
Choose the Add pushbutton.

The Create New Data Source dialog box appears.
Choose the driver; for example, Microsoft Excel Driver (*.xls).

The ODBC Microsoft Excel Set Up dialog box appears.
Enter the following data:
- Data Source Name
  
  Here you can enter a name of your choice for the file that you want to use as a data source. This name is displayed later in PCo on the ODBC Database Connection tab with the addition (System DSN).
- Description
  
  You can enter a short description here.
- Version
  
  Choose the Excel version of your file.
Choose the Select Workbook pushbutton to select the directory and the Excel file you want.
Confirm by choosing OK.

The System DSN is now displayed in the ODBC Data Source Administrator and in the PCo Management Console on the ODBC Database Connection tab.