The Microsoft ODBC driver manager and DP4 ODBC driver give you the capability to add ODBC data sources for DP4 databases. Most vendors bundle the Microsoft ODBC driver manager along with their own ODBC programs. So, if you have installed a third-party application with support for ODBC, it is likely that the Microsoft ODBC driver manager is already available on your system. In attempting to locate this program, open the Control Panel and check this icon is there (or a similar one - a slightly different icon is used on Windows 98,Me and 2000):
On Windows Me you may have to select the option to "Show all Control Panel Options". On Windows 2000 and Windows XP this part of Control Panel has been hidden inside the "Administrative Tools Option - it will definitely be present). If it is not, you will probably find an icon to run it in one of the third-party vendors program groups - for example, the Oracle7 ODBC group contains an icon entitled ODBC Administrator that runs the Microsoft ODBC driver manager.
Using the Microsoft ODBC driver manager, add a data source for each DP4 database to be accessed through the ODBC interface:
Run the Microsoft driver manager by double-clicking the ODBC icon in the Control Panel or by double-clicking the appropriate icon. The Data Sources dialog box appears:
This dialog enables you to add, delete or configure data sources. The data source defined for all the currently installed drivers are listed in the Data Sources lists or the various types of DSN. (There are several different types of DSN. If you want your DSN to be accessible to any application run by anyting user on the machine you should use a System DSN)
There are seven buttons:
|
Option (W32) |
Option (W16) |
Description |
|---|---|---|
|
Add |
Add |
Allows you to add a new data source to the list |
|
Remove |
Delete |
Deletes the data source highlighted in the list |
|
Configure |
Setup |
Allows you to change the configuration of the data source highlighted in the list |
|
OK |
Close |
Closes the dialog box, confirming any changes you have made |
|
Cancel |
- |
Closes the dialog box, cancelling any changes you have made |
|
Apply |
- |
Closes the dialog box, forcing any changes you have made to take effect immediately |
|
Help |
Help |
Takes you into help screens |
|
- |
Drivers |
Allows you to install new ODBC drivers or delete existing ones. (In 32-bit Windows this is installed by application software.) |
|
- |
Options |
Allows you to specify how the ODBC driver manager traces calls to ODBC functions. (In 32-bit Windows select the Tracing tab.) |
Click Add to add a new data source. The Add Data Source dialog box appears:
This dialog lists the currently installed ODBC drivers
From the list, select the DP4 driver and click Finish or OK. A small DP4 dialog requesting the name of the data source (or database for older DP4 releases) appears:
Fill in the data source name and click OK. (You can use any name, but it is usual to use the database name). A second DP4 dialog appears:
Click on an control in the illustration above for information about it.
After setting the appropriate properties the data source, click OK. you will be returned to the Data Sources dialog box, which will have been updated to show the new data source.