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      Setting up an ODBC connection to access data.

      Create an ODBC connection for connecting applications to your SQL Server database to view your Acctivate data.

      Acctivate uses a Microsoft SQL Server database.  The most common method for connecting to a SQL Server database is via Open Database Connectivity (ODBC).

      ODBC allows other software, such as the UPS or FedEx shipping workstation to connect to the Acctivate database.  The following procedure can be used from a shipping workstation or any computer on the local network that needs direct access to the Acctivate database.

      1. Log in to the workstation as a user with Windows Administrator privileges
      2. Open the Administrative Tools section of the Windows Control Panel (in the System and Security category) or search for ODBC and select ODBC Data Sources (32-bit) and skip to step 4.
      3. Open Data Sources (ODBC)
      4. Click Add… on the System DSN tab
        SystemDSN
      5. Choose SQL Server from the list and Click Finish
        CreateNewDataSource
      6. Choose a Name and Description and the Microsoft SQL Server for this data source connection.
        DataSourceName
        • NOTE: The Server is usually the server’s computer name followed by \ACCTIVATE as shown above.
      7. Click Next to proceed
      8. The ODBC data source should be configured With SQL Server authentication using a login ID and password entered by the user.
      9. The Microsoft SQL Server administrator login is sa (i.e., System Admin).  The password may have been changed during the installation or configuration of SQL Server. Please contact the Acctivate support team or your database or network administrator for credentials for the database.
        DataSourceUser
      10. Click Next > to continue
      11. Check the box adjacent to Change the default database to: and select your company database (e.g., ACCTivate$YourCompany) and click Next
        DataSourceChangeDatabase
      12. Do not adjust any settings on the next step (e.g., Change the language of SQL Server…) and click Finish
      13. Click Test Data Source… to confirm everything is working.
        DataSourceTest
      14. Ensure that TESTS COMPLETED SUCCESSFULLY! message appears and YOU’RE DONE, Congratulations!

      Now you can continue with the UPS or FedEx shipping workstation setup, Microsoft Excel query, etc.

      If you don’t see your ODBC connection when trying to setup your UPS or FedEx shipping workstation, refer to our Can’t Find Created ODBC Connection article.

      For more information about ODBC connections to SQL server, check out our docs page.