How do I Connect to a 32 bit ODBC solution with 64 bit Filemaker?

November 18, 20196 yr

We have a 12 year old SQL solution that we previously have connected with Filemaker via ODBC. This worked good until a while ago, and now I realize that the SQL database is on a 32 bit system, while all our filemaker clients and server are on 64 bit.

The SQL database will be phased out within a year, so I really just want to connect to it, and get all the important data before it's gone.

Thoughts
I have a lot of Mac and Windows computers available as well as all FM versions back to v10, but before I test what's working or not I think it's smarter to ask you nice fellows, that actually might know this.

- Is there any way to connect to a 32 bit ODBC database with Filemaker 18 on Mac?
- What is the newest version of FIlemaker on Mac that supports 32 bit ODBC?
- What is the newest version of FIlemaker on Windows that supports 32 bit ODBC?
- Is there another third party plugin that may support this?

Tia,
Andreas

November 19, 20196 yr

Mac FM has been 64-bit for a long while and I doubt that you'll find a 32-bit mac FM that still runs on any of the recent macOSes. So you'll need a 64-bit ODBC driver for that 32-bit database. That driver may or may not exist. If it does not exist then you'll have to create some piece of middleware that can use the 32-bit driver and acts as an API for FM to talk to. I'd do this as a micro-service in Python or Node.js or ASP.NET.

On Windows it is actually easier since FM still has both a 32 and a 64-bit version. So you'd need a 32-bit install of FM using the 32-bit driver of your other database. (Of course, if a 64-bit driver for the other db exists then it you'd use the 64-bit FM).

Does the other db have any other APIs besides ODBC? Does it support JDBC?

If you can make it work from a 32-bit Windows then perhaps set up a FM 'robot' machine to act as the intermediary and channel all data requests through that robot.

2 weeks later...

November 29, 20196 yr

Author

Thanks Wim!

I was actually thinking of setting up an older Mac that only connected to the ODBC, and shared that data from its installed Filemaker. Just like a robot that you suggest.

The problem is that we don't have any control over the other machine. We even don't know where it's located. 😝 It's an old Linux machine of some kind. To invest time and money in that is not something we want to do.

However, I'll look into this solution: http://www.actualtech.com/filemaker.php