ODBC Administrator Icon

Setting up parameters for an ODBC connection

After you’ve configured ODBC drivers for a particular database, you can set up the parameters (called “data sources”) for different types of queries. For example, you can specify the database you want to query and the types of information to retrieve.

You can use ODBC Administrator, located in the Utilities folder of the Applications folder, to set up these data sources.

To set up a data source:

Step 1

Open ODBC Administrator.

Step 2

Click System DSN if you want this data source to be available to all the users on this computer. Click User DSN to make this data source available only to the user currently logged in to this computer.

Step 3

Click the Add button and choose a driver from the list of configured drivers, and then click OK.

Step 4

In the window that appears, type a name for this data source and a description.

If the driver you selected has its own data source configuration panel, follow the instructions provided in the panel.

Step 5

Click the Add button to create placeholders in the Key and Value columns.

Step 6

Double-click the placeholders to type your own keys and values, and then click OK.

Step 7

To save any changes before closing the window, click Apply.

If the settings are dimmed and the lock icon is locked, click the icon and type the name and password of an administrator user.