Configuring the DataDirect Text Driver on Windows

  To configure a data source name for a flat file data source:

1. Click Add to open the Create New Data Source dialog box.

2. In the driver list box of the Create New Data Source dialog box, select the Merant OEM 6.0 TextFile driver, and click Finish.

   The General tab of the ODBC Text Driver Setup dialog box for flat file configuration is displayed.

3. In the Data Source Name text box, type a name for the flat file data source.

4. Optional: If you want to record a description, in the Description text box, type a description that indicates how you use this data source name.

   For example, you might type the following to describe the My Business database:

   Customers, products, markets

5. In the Database Directory text box, type the path to the folder where the flat files are located.

6. In the Default Table Type drop-down list, select whether the text file is comma-separated, tab-separated, character-separated, fixed length, or stream.

   Note:

   If your text files are character-separated, type the character that is used as a delimiter in the Delimiter Character text box.

7. If the first line of your text files contains the column names of the database table, select the Column Names in First Line check box; otherwise, proceed to Step 8.

8. Select the Advanced tab.

9. In the Rows to Scan text box, type the number of rows that should be scanned for the driver to determine the data types in the file.

   The default is 25 rows. If 0 is entered, all rows in the file are scanned.

10. In the Action for Undefined Tables group, choose one of the following actions that the driver should take when it encounters a file that has not been defined.

    • Prompt for Definition. The text driver prompts you when it encounters a file that has not been defined.

    • Guess Definition. The text driver analyzes the file and guesses the file’s format.

      Note:

      The options in the Return Additional Tables group are not supported.

11. Complete the following steps to define the structure of your data source text files:

    1. Click the Define button to display the Define File dialog box.

    2. Navigate to the folder that contains your data source text files.

    3. Select a text file to define and click Open to display the Define Table dialog box.

    4. In the Table text box, type a table name to associate with this text file.

       The table name you define is the table name that will be displayed in the left frame of the OLAP Model main window.

    5. If the first line of text in the file contains the column names, select the Column Names in the First Line check box.

       If the first line of the text file does not contain the column names, then do not select this check box.

    6. From the Table Type drop-down list, select the delimiter that is used in the text file.

    7. If you select Character in the Table Type drop-down list in Step f, specify the character in the Delimiter Character text box.

       You can specify any printable character except single and double quotation marks.

    8. In the Decimal Symbol text box, specify either a comma or period as a decimal separator to use when data is stored.

12. Perform one of the following actions to define the column names:

    • If you specified in Step 11f that your text files were comma-separated, tab-separated, or character-separated, click the Guess button to have the text driver guess at the column names and display them in the list box under Column Information.

    • If you specified in Step 11f that your text files were fixed-length or stream type, click the Parse button to display the Parse Table dialog box, where you define the table column names.

      For more information on using the Parse Table dialog box, see the DataDirect Connect ODBC Reference. You can also view the DataDirect online help by clicking the Help button in the Parse Table dialog box.

    • If you want to define the values and fields for each column manually, click Add to add the column name to the list box under Column Information.

      For each table that you add manually, you must specify the data type, data mask (where appropriate), column precision, column scale, length, and offset. For more information on these settings, see the DataDirect Connect ODBC Reference. You can also view the DataDirect online help by clicking the Help button in the Define Table dialog box.

13. Optional: Modify or delete any of the existing column definitions by selecting a column name in the list box under Column Definition and clicking the Modify or Remove button.

14. Click OK to define the table.

15. Complete Step 11 through Step 14 for each data source table that you want to define.

16. When you have finished defining each data source table, click Cancel in the Define File dialog box to return to the Advanced tab of the ODBC Text Driver Setup dialog box.

17. Specify the remaining settings on the Advanced tab.