Connecting to Access - SuperCHANNEL

SuperCHANNEL can read data from Microsoft Access through the jdbc:odbc bridge.

Limitations of the jdbc:odbc Bridge

There are a number of limitations when using the jdbc:odbc bridge:

• It cannot recognize table joins. You will have to construct table references in the SuperCHANNEL GUI.
• It supports a maximum of 64 characters for column names. Any text beyond this limit will be truncated.
• It does not support Unicode characters.

In addition, please note that the jdbc:odbc bridge has been removed from Java 8 onwards.

You are recommended to consider using a relational database instead.

The jdbc:odbc bridge is also not recommended for large data sets. You are strongly recommended to use a relational database instead, connecting using a JDBC driver.

If using a relational database is not an option for you, then you may be able to channel your data using Space-Time Research's Textual Database Definition format.

Create an ODBC Data Connection

In order to connect to Access you need to create an ODBC data connection.

1. If you have not already installed the Microsoft data access drivers, download and install the drivers from: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=13255

2. Once you have installed the drivers, go to the Windows Control Panel and select System and Security > Administrative Tools > Data Sources (ODBC).

   The ODBC Data Source Administrator window displays.

3. Click Add.

   

4. Select Microsoft Access Driver and click Finish.

   

5. Give your new data source a Name and a Description. You will use the Data Source Name to connect to this data source in SuperCHANNEL.
6. In the Database section, click Select and select the database file that contains your data.

7. Click OK to create the data source.

   

Connect to the Data Source

1. In SuperCHANNEL, select File > Connect to Source.

2. In the Driver field, select the odbc driver.

   When you select the driver, SuperCHANNEL automatically populates the Location field with the first part of the connection string: jdbc:odbc

3. Add the ODBC Data Source Name that you set in the previous step to complete the location string. For example:
   

   

4. Click OK (this data source does not require a username, password, or schema).

   SuperCHANNEL populates the Source View with the tables from the Access database.

   

You can now connect to a target SXV4 database and design and build your database. For example: