Working with MySQL Connector ODBC and OfficeIntroduction to ODBC and MySQL Connector ODBC ODBC (Object Database Connectiity! is a wide"y used database #$I (#%%"ication $rogra&&ers Interface! used for estab"ishing brand'inde%endent database connections( #ssu&ing a database has a drier aai"ab"e for ODBC) that drier wi"" act "ike a broker between the ODBC c"ient re*uesting so&e infor&ation and the database) &aking it %ossib"e to get a"" kinds of dis%arate syste&s connected to each other ia the ODBC serice(MySQL Connector ODBC is the ODBC drier aai"ab"e for the MySQL database) and can be down"oaded free"y fro& MySQL(co&( In this tutoria") I wi"" show you how you can use MS Office a%%"ications to connect ia ODBC to a MySQL database) then down"oad data fro& that source to the a%%"ication in use (here I wi"" de&o +,ce" and #ccess!(-he software I wi"" be using are the fo""owing) if you are using different ersions of Windows or Office) then your interface &ight differ s"ight"y (but ho%efu""y not too &uch.!/Windows 0111 $rofessiona") Serice $ack 2/ this shou"d co&e with Data Sources (ODBC! insta""ed by defau"t(Office 0112 $rofessiona"/ #s of writing) this is the "atest ersion of Office) but an o"der ersion shou"d work just fine(MySQL 3(4(2 Beta/ -his is the "atest test re"ease of 3(4, aai"ab"e) but again an o"der ersion shou"d be fine( On &y test network) I hae MySQL insta""ed on a se%arate &achine running on the 5edhat 6 Linu, o%erating syste&) but this cou"d just as easi"y be running on Windows(MySQL Connector ODBC 2(74/ -he "atest %roduction ersion of the MySQL ODBC drier(-he Different 5o"es of the MS Office 8ser and the MySQL DB#It is worth %ointing out that in a rea" eniron&ent) it is un"ike"y that the %erson using Office to access the data is a"so the DB# (Database #d&inistrator! for the MySQL database( 9enera""y) the MySQL database wi"" reside on a re&ote serer) whi"e the ODBC serice and the MySQL connection drier wi""be insta""ed "oca""y on a Windows workstation(ODBC connections %resent a conenient &ethod for non'database s%ecia"ists to access "ie data) without haing to re*uest that data on a case'by'case basis fro& DB#s( Whi"e this wi"" free u% so&e work for the DB#) it is i&%ortant that the DB# rea"ises that ODBC re*uires a user account to access the database) so an account wi"" hae to be set u%( 9enera""y this account wi"" on"y re*uire read'on"y access to a "i&ited set of tab"es within a sing"e database) and therefore it is i&%ortant that this is the on"y access granted) and that no other data is iewab"e to the ODBC user for security reasons(9ranting tab"e %rii"eges fro& the MySQL conso"e is beyond the sco%e of this tutoria") so I wi"" assu&ethat a DB# has set u% this account correct"y( In &y test eniron&ent) the MySQL database and ODBC c"ient are on se%arate &achines that are networked together/ redhat(soy"ent contains the MySQL database running on Linu,: whi"e w0k0(soy"ent is acting as the Windows 0111 c"ient with the MySQL Connector;ODBC drier insta""ed( na&e> that any ODBC'co&%"iant software can use to access the database connection detai"ed within the DS=( #s you &ight e,%ect) because a DS= is a database connection) we wi"" need to %roide it with a a"id userna&e and %assword to access that database/Start '? Settings '? Contro" $ane" '? #d&inistratie -oo"sIf ODBC is insta""ed) there shou"d be an icon here ca""ed Data Sources (ODBC!( Doub"e'c"ick this(Choose the Syste& DS= tab (a Syste& DS= is aai"ab"e to a"" users of a co&%uter!) then c"ick #dd(((Scro"" down unti" you find MySQL ODBC Drier 2(74 in the "ist) choose it) then c"ick