ID: Q123008
The information in this article applies to:
This article discusses the following four methods for setting up an ODBC data source on a computer:
- ODBC Setup
- RegisterDatabase
- ODBC API
- Blind Copy of INI files
The following files must be distributed with your application if you use ODBC. When using the Setup Wizard to create distribution disks, ensure that the necessary files are included in the file list. All of the files listed should be installed in the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory.
Optional files (SQL Server or Oracle) are denoted with an asterisk (*).
File Description
ODBC.DLL The ODBC Driver Manager. This DLL is called by the
Microsoft Jet database engine when performing ODBC
operations. The Driver Manager handles loading the
correct ODBC driver and dispatching ODBC function
calls to the driver.
ODBCINST.DLL The ODBC Driver Installation library. This DLL
contains Driver installation specific functions.
The ODBC Administrator (ODBCADM.EXE) calls functions
exported from this DLL when installing ODBC
drivers. You may also call functions in this DLL
to automate driver installation.
ODBCADM.EXE The ODBC Administrator program. This program
allows a user to install ODBC drivers and
set up or modify Data Sources.
ODBCINST.HLP The ODBC Administrator help file.
COMMDLG.DLL The Common Dialog DLL. This DLL is used by the
ODBC Administrator program.
CTL3D.DLL The 3D Control DLL. This DLL is used by the ODBC
Administrator program. If you are using ODBC.DLL
version 1.05 or greater, you need to distribute
CTL3DV2.DLL.
PDSODBC.DLL Crystal Reports Physical Server DLL for ODBC. This
DLL is required only if your application uses Crystal
Reports to access an ODBC data source.
<driver>.DLL The ODBC driver(s) that the application will use
to connect to specific Data Sources.
SQL Server: SQLSRVR.DLL*
Oracle 6: SQORA.DLL*
<netlib>.DLL The network library file(s). This file is used
to access the Data Source when using a specific
network protocol.
Named Pipes: DBNMP3.DLL*
TCP/IP (Sybase SQL Server): WDBNOVTC.DLL*
IPX/SPX (Sybase SQL Server): WDBNOVSP.DLL*
SQL*Net Interface: ORA6WIN.DLL*
INSTCAT.SQL* SQL Server Catalog Stored Procedures script.
DRVSSRVR.HLP* SQL Server ODBC Driver help file.
ORASETUP.DLL* Oracle ODBC Driver setup functions.
DRVORACL.HLP* Oracle ODBC Driver help file.
ORACLE.TXT* Oracle ODBC Setup "read me" file.
ODBC.INI Initialization file containing information
about specific Data Sources. The DSN parameter
in the Connect property of the data control or
the OpenDatabase statement corresponds to an
entry in the ODBC.INI. This file must also be
created or modified on the client computer.
ODBCINST.INI The Initialization file that contains
information about installed ODBC drivers. The
RegisterDatabase statement and ODBC Administrator
use the information contained in this file to
set up Data Sources. Entries in ODBCINST.INI
are created either by running an ODBC driver
setup or through the ODBC API. This file must
also be either created or modified on the client
computer.
The .INI files store information about the ODBC driver(s) and the ODBC Data Sources. As a result, they are variable -- a user's may already have them installed in the \WINDOWS directory. If a developer were to blindly copy ODBC.INI and ODBCINST.INI onto the user's computer, the new files may overwrite existing Data Sources.
Below are four methods you can use to get DSN information into the user's ODBC.INI and ODBCINST.INI files.
To install an ODBC Driver and establish an ODBC Data Source, the Visual Basic online Help documentation recommends that you copy the entire contents of the \VB\ODBC directory to an additional distribution disk.
As a developer, you can specify that the disk be inserted and SETUP.EXE run from the floppy disk. In addition, you can prompt the user to insert the ODBC floppy disk, and then use the Visual Basic Shell command to shell out to SETUP.EXE.
The Setup Wizard copies and modifies SETUP1.MAK into SETUP1A.MAK during the process of creating distribution disks. It builds SETUP1A.MAK into SETUP1.EXE, compresses it, and copies it to the distribution disks. When SETUP.EXE is executed on the distribution disks, the files in SETUP.LST are copied to the destination computer. SETUP1.EX_ is then uncompressed and executed to start copying files from the floppy disks to the destination computer.
It is possible to then modify SETUP1A.MAK, rebuild SETUP1.EXE, compress it, and copy it to the distribution disks. To ensure that the compressed file size will fit on the first distribution disk, you must pad the project with code prior to first executing the Setup Wizard. Then you can change the code into comments and add new code to prompt for the ODBC Setup disk. The resulting EXE size will then still fit on the first distribution floppy disk.
Modify SETUP1.FRM in the \VB\SETUPKIT\SETUP1 directory to add the necessary code to pad the executable. This file is copied into SETUP1A.MAK during the Setup Wizard's execution.
NOTE: Microsoft Technical Support does not support the modification of the Setup process or any of the setup files. Support is provided for the Setup Wizard and the files it creates on an "as is" basis only.
Here are the steps to follow:
1. Start Visual Basic and from the File menu, choose Open Project. Open
SETUP1.MAK in the \VB\SETUPKIT\SETUP directory.
3. At the end of the Form_Load procedure add the following code in the
ExitSub: label part, after RestoreProgMan and before the End statement:
Dim tmpK As String
Dim tmpS As String
Dim I As Long
tmpK = "dummy"
For I = 1 To 1000
tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
Next I
5. Run the Setup Wizard, and create the distribution disks.
Once the disks have been created, you need to go back into Visual Basic, edit SETUP1A.MAK, and add the appropriate code to prompt for the ODBC Setup And Installation Disk. Follow these steps:
1. Start Visual Basic.
2. Open the SETUP1A.MAK project in \VB\SETUPKIT\SETUP1 (ALT, F, O).
3. Choose SETUP1A.FRM and press F7 to view the code.
4. In the Form_Load procedure, place an apostrophe in front of each line
of the dummy code that was previously inserted as a place holder:
'Dim tmpK As String
'Dim tmpS As String
'Dim I As Long
'tmpK = "dummy"
'For I = 1 To 1000
' tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
' tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
' tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
' tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
' tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
' tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
' tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
' tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
' tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
' tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
' tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
' tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
' tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
' tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
' tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
' tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
' tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
' tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
' tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
' tmpS = Mid$(tmpK, 1, 2)
'Next I
following the commented code:
x% = MsgBox("Do you want to install the ODBC Drivers?", 36,
App.title)
If x% = 6 Then
If Not PromptForNextDisk(2, SourcePath$ + "ODBCADM.EX_") Then
GoTo ErrorSetup
End If
x% = Shell(SourcePath$ & "setup.exe")
End If
distribution disks created. The disk number is the first parameter to
the PromptForNextDisk procedure. In this example, the next disk to
prompt for is 2.
in the \VB\SETUPKIT\SETUP1 directory (ALT, F, K).
\VB\SETUPKIT\SETUP1. Execute the following at the command prompt:
\VB\SETUPKIT\KITFILES\COMPRESS -r SETUP1.EXE
copy SETUP1.EX_ to the floppy disk:
copy SETUP1.EX_ A:\SETUP1.EX_
For more information on modifying SETUP1.EXE please refer to Chapter 25, "Distributing Your Application" in the Microsoft Visual Basic Programmer's Guide.
Visual Basic provides the RegisterDatabase statement to help in installing ODBC data sources, not drivers. The RegisterDatabase statement assumes that ODBCINST.INI and ODBCINST.DLL already exist on the computer. That is, the drivers must be installed before running RegisterDatabase. If so, the developer can use RegisterDatabase to add or update an entry in the ODBC.INI.
The problem with this method is that if the client computer does not have ODBC installed on the computer, the ODBCINST.INI and DLL will not exist. Also, if the ODBC driver is new to the computer, there will not be an entry for it in ODBCINST.INI, so RegisterDatabase will fail then as well.
The following description, syntax, remarks, and example about the RegisterDatabase statement come from the Visual Basic online Help:
Description:
Makes connect information for an ODBC data source name available for
use by the OpenDatabase function.
RegisterDatabase dsn, driver, silent, attributes
The RegisterDatabase statement has the following parts:
- DSN: A string expression that is a name used in the OpenDatabase
function and refers a block of descriptive information about the
data source. For example, if the data source is an ODBC remote
database, it would be the name of the server.
- DRIVER: A string expression that is the name of the ODBC driver.
This is not the name of the ODBC driver DLL file. For example,
"SQL Server" or "Oracle" are driver name but "SQLSRVR.DLL" is the
name of a DLL file. You must have ODBC and the appropriate driver
already installed.
- SILENT: A numeric expression that is True if you do not want to
display the ODBC driver dialogs that prompt for driver-specific
information, or False if you do want to display the ODBC driver
dialogs. If silent is True, then attributes must contain all the
necessary driver-specific information or the dialog will appear
anyway.
- ATTRIBUTES: String expression that is a list of keywords to be added
to the ODBC.INI file. The keywords are in a carriage-return
delimited string.
Sub Command1_Click ()
Dim att As String
Dim mydb As Database
att = "Description = SQL Server on server Texas" & Chr$(13)
att = att & "OemToAnsi=No" & Chr$(13) ' Build keywords string.
att = att & "Server=TEXAS" & Chr$(13)
att = att & "Network=DBNMP3" & Chr$(13)
att = att & "Address=\\TEXAS\PIPE\SQL\QUERY" & Chr$(13)
att = att & "Database=Pubs" & Chr$(13)
att = att & "LastUser=Stimpy"
' Update ODBC.INI.
RegisterDatabase "Texas", "SQL Server", True, att
Set mydb = OpenDatabase("Texas", False, False, "ODBC;")
mydb.Close
End Sub
This is probably the most flexible and most efficient method, but most developers are not familiar with it and do not have the ODBC SDK that documents the API. Developers should get the Microsoft Software Development Kit (SDK) and get the "Microsoft ODBC 2.0 Programmer's Reference and SDK Guide" from Microsoft Press.
If the developer is certain that an ODBC.INI and ODBCINST.INI do not exist on the installation computer, they can simply copy the files. However, the developer must ensure that the paths to the drivers are correct; paths are fully qualified within the .INI files. For example, the ODBC.INI file will specify C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SQLSRVR.DLL as the driver for SQL Server, so if the user's Windows setup is in \WIN31, the path won't work.
KBCategory: kbsetup kbhowto KBSubcategory: APrgDataODBC VB4ALL VB4WIN Additional reference words: 3.00 4.00
Keywords : kbDatabase kbODBC kbVBp400 VB4WIN
Version : WINDOWS:3.0, 4.0
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbhowtoLast Reviewed: April 30, 1998