Re: ODBC with Excel in 2003

Try this for a start definition
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/odbc/htm/dasdkodbcoverview.asp

odbc (open database connectivity) are programming interfaces to allow access
to different data sources. They are a form of 'driver' and come in different
version depending on the vendors that supply them for their products (ms
generic, excel, access, oracle, db2, etc.).

for other than ms products support odbc drivers often come with the
product.. ms usually ships some basic ones with the operating systems and
office products. You can also check ms downloads for updates.

when network sharing data the two primary security groups are the networking
group (firewalling of application required flows) and data center (user
rights on servers). For this you will have to check in your own organization

"merlin" <merlin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1151744299.2584.0@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
OK. I'm crawling closer to cracking this.

I think I understand now that ODBC is a common interface that I have to
set up between two programs - in this case Visio and Excel. The actual
process of setting it up is eluding me.

1) is ODBC an actual file or is it something you do to the excel and/or
visio file?

2) if it's a file then where does it have to go. Can I choose or is there
a special location for it?

3) When I crack this I'll be doing it at work (practising on my laptop at
home at the mo) so can this file be on a network drive or does it have to
be local to my pc on the hard drive (I try to avaiod that). My choice of
network drives are a 'global' shared drive and a 'home' personal drive.

4) will I need administrator rights to achieve this?

Sorry for the volume of questions. This has turned out to be more complex
than expected but I not going to give up on it!



"Al Edlund" <edlund@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:O1KXVmqmGHA.4836@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
two things. a.) what you saw with layout using the orgchart wizard is
normal b.) consider changing the name of excel file in your odbc setup to
point to the file that you just created and see if that file works.
al

"merlin" <merlin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1151442560.25195.0@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
OK I tried that. It worked fine exporting and importing (except the
subordinate shapes imported and displayed in a different order, how
annoying is that). The excel file looks similar to mine.

This isn't a great surprise because I haven't had trouble importing data
from an excel file, it's the ODBC compliant import function that's
causing an error.

"Al Edlund" <edlund@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:ey85UdimGHA.2112@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Consider trying this. Create an orgchart with visio and then export it
as excel. Compare what Visio saves to what you are trying to give
it.... Then see if Visio can import the file that you just saved.

al

"merlin" <merlin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1151436639.20509.0@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
OK - I'm a bit closer. The encryption error was indeed the file
protection (could have taken forever to find that out).
I'm now getting the error 'There are no tables or views in the data
source'.

I created a test excel *** with a list of data on *** 1 with a
heading at the top of each column in the top row.
I saved that and closed it.
Then I went in to Visio (it was already open and on a blank ***)
Org Chart>Import Org Chart Data>Info That's already stored>ODBC
compliant data source>
browse to my testfile and select.
Then I get the error.

Help!




"Bill Morein [MSFT]" <wmorein@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:AA3C3144-06F8-4527-9E67-964EA4ADECD5@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Is your Excel file password protected? The ODBC drivers do not
support encrypted files.

You can also try importing the Excel data in Excel using ODBC. Kind
of a strange use, but it works and you don't need to mess around with
Access.

--
Bill Morein
http://blogs.msdn.com/wmorein
Visio
Microsoft Corporation


"merlin" <merlin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1151268793.70358.0@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Although I'm quite proficient with excel, I've never had to use
Access so I would be well out of my depth there.

Are there any common set-up mistakes I might look at?

"Al Edlund" <edlund@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:%23CjC8oFmGHA.4268@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
when playing with odbc, setup is often one of the first missteps. I
like to use Access to test my odbc setups by having it import using
the odbc pointer (not the excel import). When it get's the tables
correct I can then move on.
al

"merlin" <merlin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1151229539.24140.0@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I'm trying to link an org chart's shapes with an excel spread***
using the ODBC function.

I think I've followed all the steps in the Wizard and the help
pages but I just get an error 'can't decrypt data' (or something
like that). Can anyone suggest what I'm doing wrong? Is there
maybe something else to set up or something else I should have
installed?


















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