Creating a Data Source Connection to Microsoft Access - MapInfo_Pro - 2023

You can work with your Microsoft Access database from MapInfo Pro through an ODBC connection. Microsoft Access does not allow spatial data, but you can display in MapInfo Pro data that has X and Y coordinate values associated with it.

Before you Begin

Before you begin, you must have the Microsoft Access Driver installed on your machine-the driver is installed by default with your Microsoft Access. The driver is necessary for establishing an ODBC connection to the data source.

To check that the driver is installed on your machine, run the ODBC Administrator:

1. Open the Control Panel; on the Start menu, click Control Panel.
2. In the Control Panel, in the Classic View, click Administrative Tools, and click Data Sources ODBC (ODBC).
3. In the Data Sources ODBC Administrator dialog box, select the User DSN tab.
4. In the list, locate and select the MS Access Database. Or, if you do not see this name, then under the Driver list look for Microsoft Access Driver(.mdb or .accdb).
5. Click Configure to ensure that it is properly set up.

If the driver is not there, then click Add to check if the Access driver is installed. You may need to install the Microsoft Access drivers. These are included with Microsoft Access, Microsoft Office Professional, ODBC SDK, Visual C++, MapInfo Pro, or purchased separately.

To verify if this is the required version of this driver, select the Drivers tab in the ODBC Administrator. Locate the MS Access Driver (.MDB or .ACCDB) and check that it is the latest version.

To add a new Microsoft Access Data Source

1. Run the ODBC Administrator.
2. Under the User DSN tab, click Add.
3. In the Create New Data Source wizard, select MS Access Driver (.MDB or .ACCDB) from the list and click Finish.
4. In the ODBC Microsoft Access Setup dialog box, in the Data Source Name box, type in a name for the data source. (This is the name that appears in the list when you connect from MapInfo Pro.) Click Select.
5. In the Select Database dialog box, select the Microsoft Access database you wish to use and then click OK.

   If you do not select a database for this data source, a prompt displays during the connection to do so. MapInfo Pro provides a sample Microsoft Access database.

Limitation

in Microsoft Access, if the key is set to character, then it does not display rows when the key value is less than the full column width: for example, if the key is set to char(5), then the value `aaaa' looks like a deleted row.