FM7, Mac OSx: cant get DSN to connect

[3rdparty]

I want to access FM7.03 data from Excel 2004 via ODBC, with everything on the same machine (running 10.3.9) - no network involved - and am getting nowhere. The ODBC driver from filemaker never manages to connect to the database, and when I try a test connect I get an error "HY000 [DataDirect][ODBC Sequelink driver][sequelink Client] TCP/IP host is not specified".

I believe I have the driver and DSN correctly configured via the iODBC Data Source Administrator, and have followed the guidelines set out in FM's "ODBC and JDBC Developers Guide":

The Host value is set to 'localhost', and have also tried 127.0.0.1 with the same result.

Port is set to 2399

ServerDataSource is set to the db file name (no spaces or dblbyte charatcters),

the database is open,

ODBC/JDBC sharing is on,

the account has sufficient privileges

correct priviliges are set via the finder for the xDBC components.

There is no other version of filemaker running (though FM6 is present on the machine and it has sharing disabled).

Any ideas?

Thanks

[mluka]

Hi.

Did you ever get ODBC to work?

I'm having the same problems as you, apparently following the same path that you followed min installing and configuring the driver...

Anyone out there can answer this???

Thanks!

[3rdparty]

hi Mluka

Yes I did get this to work, but it took a LOT of effort. Best advice I got was from Jonathan Monroe at actual technologies who wrote this:

"Thank you for contacting us. Our drivers let you use FileMaker (or Excel) as a front end to other databases via ODBC. We don't offer a product for using FMP as a data source, mainly because FileMaker Inc makes their own driver available for free.

Even though the FileMaker ODBC driver isn't our product, we do have a set of instructions we give to people who ask us about it:

1. Download the "FileMaker 7 ODBC/JDBC update (Mac)" from the FileMaker website:

http://www.filemaker.com/odbc

2. FMP 7 only (FMP 8 already has this installed): Follow the instructions in the included document "FM xDBC Update Read Me (English).pdf". To summarize, you'll copy the xDBC.fmplugin file and the xDBC Support folder (located in the "xDBC Plug-in" folder) into the following folder:

/Applications/FileMaker Pro 7/Extensions/

3. Copy the SequeLink.bundle file (located in the "ODBC Client Driver" folder) to the following folder: /Library/ODBC

4. Then you'll use the ODBC Administrator to add the driver. Press the Drivers tab, then press the Add button. Specify "SequeLink" for the driver name, and the following path for the Driver file name (you'll need to manually enter the path to the driver, since the ODBC Administrator won't allow you to browse inside a bundle):

/Library/ODBC/SequeLink.bundle/Contents/MacOS/ivslk18.dylib

5. Using the ODBC Administrator, you'll need to manually enter the DSN parameter values, since the driver doesn't include a DSN setup assistant. Press the User DSN tab and then press the Add button, and enter the following Keyword / Value pairs:

Host (IP address of the server - example: 192.168.0.100)

Port 2399

ServerDataSource (name of FMP database without the extension - example: Inventory)

LoginID (optional)

Password (optional)

6. You will need to enable ODBC sharing within FileMaker:

a. Start FileMaker and open the database you specified for "ServerDataSource" in step 4

b. Select the menu FileMaker Pro -> Sharing -> ODBC/JDBC...

c. On the FileMaker ODBC/JDBC Settings dialog, turn the ODBC/JDBC Sharing ON

d. Select your database from the "Currently open files" list

e. Select "All Users" in the "ODBC/JDBC access to file" area

f. Press OK

g. Restart FileMaker

7. You will also need the iODBC frameworks. These are available from www.iodbc.org, or, since you've installed the Actual Technologies ODBC drivers, then you already have them.

8. You should then be able to query your FMP database from Excel by selecting Data->Get External Data->New Database Query"

What I found out in addition:

- The DSN needs to be defined as System rather than User or it wont work

- You can set the Host to "localhost" if the FM db is on the same machine as XL

- In the configuration of the DSN I needed to set a User and a Username

- Avoiding spaces in the names of both the FM db (the ServerDataSource) and the name of the DSN seemed to reduce complication, but might not be mandatory.

How have you got on?

Edited November 27, 2007 by Guest