SQL Server to FM Pro

[aharown07]

I'm looking for tips on how to get a SQL server migrated to FM Pro. Actually, I've already got the FM Pro solution 90% built, but I need to get data exported from SQL Server in some form I can import into FM Pro.

Anybody been there done that?

[Wim Decorte]

FM can import from an ODBC source, so all you need to do is make a DSN for the SQL Server using the SQL Server ODBC driver and import directly.

[aharown07]

Thanks. I've never done that though and the whole ODBC world is a planet I have not visited. Is there a quick 1, 2, 3 you can give me as far as steps to take or should I plan to settle into my easy chair and do alot of reading?

[Wim Decorte]

No, you got to read some stuff. How to set up the DSN (Data Source Name) should be in the SQL documentation (or you can google, there should be plenty of hits). Once you have set up, in the FM import script choose "ODBC source" and walk through the wizard...

[mgm75]

Here is a cool tool if you don't have the time to learn odbc.

http://www.sqlmanager.net/en/products/mssql/dataexport/buy

I used it on a project where we had to convert asql database to our filemaker one. I just exported the data into excell then converted it to filemaker. Pretty simple. It is a very inexpencive tool.

[aharown07]

Thanks. I'm over the humb now though. What I ended up doing was using SQL Server's export wizard to move the tables out to Excel files.

I tried to bring them into Filemaker directly via ODBC but got errors... and I don't know enough about about ODBC to know what they mean.

The export wizard is part of the Client Tools you can install when you install SQL Server.

In the "Enterprise Manager" you can right click on a database, choose "All Actions" and then export.

Had to play w/it a while to figure out the right choices for the options, but it works fine.

Of course, if you don't have SQL Server, it's a mightly expensive SQL data extraction tool!

I just didn't know it had export functionality like that until a friend told me about it.