Q+E Warning: Unable to Connect to Database Driver

SUMMARY

When choosing Open or Define from the File menu in Q+E, you may receive the error "Unable to Connect to database driver:" followed by one of the Q+E file driver names (that is, ExcelFile, dBaseFile, TextFile, or SQLFile). This warning will appear if any of the entries for Q+E drivers are incorrect in the WIN.INI file, the DLL files for the drivers are missing or corrupt, or in some cases if extraneous lines are contained in the Q+E sections of the WIN.INI file.

MORE INFORMATION

The following is a list of things to check when this error occurs.

1. Check the size and location of the DLL files.

   If your setup disks are dated 12/09/90, the DLLs for version 3.0 are found in the WINDOWS\SYSTEM subdirectory and are the following sizes:

         Driver Name     Filename        Size
         -----------     --------        ----
   
         ExcelFile       QEXLS.DLL       87088  Bytes
         SQLFile         QESS.DLL        31456  Bytes
         TextFile        QETXT.DLL       88816  Bytes
         dBaseFile       QEDBF.DLL       117936 Bytes
   
      If your setup disks are dated later than 12/09/90, the DLLs are
      found in the EXCEL directory and are the following sizes:
   
         Driver Name     Filename        Size
         -----------     --------        ----
   
         ExcelFile       QEXLS.DLL       86640  Bytes
         SQLFile         QESS.DLL        35360  Bytes
         TextFile        QETXT.DLL       88320  Bytes
         dBaseFile       QEDBF.DLL       115936 Bytes
   
   

2. Verify that the date of the DLLs matches the date of the QE.EXE file. If the DLLs are older, you must delete them and reinstall Q+E to get the correct DLLs.

3. Add the directory that contains the DLL files to the path.

   If the DLLs are in the SYSTEM subdirectory of the directory from which you are running Windows, then you do not need to add the DLLs to your path. Otherwise, the directory the DLLs are in must be added to the path statement in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file for Q+E to find them.

4. Check the WIN.INI file for incorrect or extraneous entries.

   Below are the default settings for the Q+E section of the WIN.INI if all drivers are installed during setup and before any changes are made through Q+E. Under certain circumstances the settings may need to be in this exact order under each heading.

         [SQLCONNECT]
         ExcelFile=QEXLS
         SQLServer=QESS
         dBASEFile=QEDBF
         TextFile=QETXT
   

         [QEXLS]
         Extension=XLS
   

         [QESS]
         Server=
         ServerName=
         LogonID=
   

         [Q+E]
         connect=dBASEFile
         NoLogon=dBASEFile,TextFile,ExcelFile
         Maximized=0
         AsciiOem=0
   

         [QEDBF]
         Extension=DBF
         IndexExtension=NDX,MDX
   

         [QETXT]
         Extension=CSV
   

REFERENCES

"Q+E for Microsoft Excel User's Guide," pages 43-47.