Windows ODBC

The Windows ODBC Configure Data Source Wizard helps you set up your data source drivers by connecting to the Windows ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) Data Sources settings for a particular Windows user or computer.

Note: If you are running an x64 operating system with Workflow x64 and you intend to use a Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Access data source, you need to install Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016 to get the x64 ODBC drivers for Office. The database engine can be downloaded here.

Third-Party Database Selection

Select a data source type

• System: Available to any user logged in to the current computer.

Choose a data source driver

• Select a data source from the drop-down list.

Administer Data Source Providers

To configure data sources

1. Click Administer Data Source Providers.
2. The ODBC Data Source Administrator dialog box will open. This is a Windows dialog box associated with the current computer. It is also available from the Windows Control Panel in the Administrative Tools option.
3. Select the System DSN tab.
4. Click Add to select a driver.
5. A setup dialog box for the selected driver will appear. Configure your preferred settings and click OK.
6. In the Configure Data Source Wizard, select your driver from the drop-down list.

Third-Party Database Authentication

• Choose whether to use Windows authentication or server authentication. If using server authentication, specify a username and password.
• When you have finished configuring your data source, click Finish.

Writing to Excel through ODBC

ReadOnly is the default setting for an ODBC connection to Excel. Trying to write to Excel through ODBC in Windows returns error message “Operation must use an updateable query”. To be able to write to Excel through ODBC, use one of the following methods:

If you are connecting through a DSN, perform the following steps:

1. Open Control Panel, and then click ODBC Data Source Administrator.
2. Double-click your DSN.
3. In the ODBC Microsoft Excel Setup dialog box, click Options.
4. Ensure the ReadOnly checkbox is not selected.

If you are using a direct/DSN-less connection, include "ReadOnly=0" in the connection string. For example:

cn.Open "Driver={Microsoft Excel Driver (*.xls)};DBQ=C:\MyDoc.xls;ReadOnly=0;"

For additional information, see the Microsoft KB article on the Windows error message.