Note: If you are using the LPS, you may not need ODBC. Please refer to the LPS manual for more information.
ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) is Microsoft’s strategic interface for accessing data in an environment of relational and non-relational database management systems (DBMS’s). ODBC allows applications to access multiple data sources without having to understand the underlying format of the data being read. It is through this mechanism that the Loftware system is able to access your data.
The standard Loftware setup program installs Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) which includes the following ODBC drivers: Microsoft Access, dBASE, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft FoxPro, Paradox, Text (CSV and Fixed Length), SQL Server, and Oracle. 16-bit drivers are not included. If your data is in a different format, such as DB2, Sybase, Btrieve etc., you must obtain a 32-bit ODBC driver that is compliant with your database. You can often find these drivers by contacting your provider or by searching on the Internet.
Note on Loftware Upgrades and ODBC: During installation of a Loftware upgrade, the schema.ini file located in the \loftware labeling\dbases\ folder is overwritten. The schema.ini file is used by ODBC for connectivity to text files. Several text files can share one schema.ini file, but there can only be one such ini file per folder. Because Loftware supplies sample text files for ODBC, the upgrade installation must update, and therefore overwrite, the schema.ini file located in the \loftware labeling\dbases\ folder. It is therefore recommended that if you are using text files with ODBC, use a folder other than the \loftware labeling\dbases\ folder.
ODBC manages databases through the use of registered “data sources.” A data source consists of a specific set of data (e.g. a database), the information required to access that data, and the location of the data source.
Examples of Data Sources
1. A directory containing a set of dBase files you want to access.
2. An SQL Server database, the server on which it resides and the network used to access that server.
3. A Microsoft Access database
4. An Oracle database through a gateway to a Vax or AS/400
Connecting to a data source means establishing communications with a DBMS in order to access that data source’s data. When you connect to a data source from an application through an ODBC driver, the driver makes the connection for you, either locally or across a network.
How Loftware Label Manager Uses ODBC
All databases are accessed using ODBC in Loftware Label Manager. The advantage of this is that Loftware Label Manager connects to any data source for which there is an ODBC driver.
Note: If you are using the Loftware Print Server (LPS), data from your database is usually 'pushed' to the LPS. Refer to the 'Data Push’ section in Chapter 1 of the LPS User’s Guide.
Before you can use a database as a data source in Loftware Label Manager, you must set up an ODBC data source for the data. The Loftware setup program creates 4 sample data sources for you, each of which points to sample databases in the 'Program Files\Loftware Labeling\dbases' directory. These datasources can be viewed and changed from the ODBC control panel applet as described below.
· Loftware dBase Sample – Sample Data Source for dBase IV and V files
· Loftware Access Sample – Sample Access database
· Loftware Excel Sample – Sample Excel database
· Loftware Text Sample – Sample ASCII text databases