Connect to Navision - DSN?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Michelle
  • Start date Start date
M

Michelle

Hello, I need to be able to make some queries to be able to extract data
from a big Navision database. And I don't really know what I'm doing - I'm
an Excel VBA programmer, although not very tecchie...

Ideally I want to end up with data in Excel (maybe using Data-Import). Or I
could set up the queries in Access and then either use Access's reporting
tool or export data from Access into Excel. Someone told me that I need to
set up a DSN? to Navision. Is that true?

I'm not going to get a chance to look at the database for a couple of weeks,
but I want to be prepared. I'm not very good with database jargon, can
anyone tell me what I need to do in SIMPLE terms! Are there any complex
steps that I should research and practice before trying to do it for real.

Sorry if I sound like a simpleton - I'm a bit out of my depth here.

Thanks for any help/pointers

M
 
Michelle, I would start off by going into your Windows control panel and
choosing "Administrative Tools" and then click on "Data Sources (ODBC)".
Go to the "System DSN" tab. If you see the server you want to connect to
there,
by all means click on it. If it is not there, click the "Add" button and
choose the appropriate selection from the "Create New Data Source" dialog box
that appears. If you choose SQL Server from the "Create New Data Source"
list, another dialog box appears entitled "Create a New Data Source to SQL
Server". Once you set all that up correctly, you will be able to use that
ODBC data source via Access or Excel (I strongly suggest Access) by clicking
"File -> Get External Data -> Link Tables and then choose "Files of Type" of
'ODBC Databases()'. Good luck, I hope I haven't lead you astray.
 
You can easily make dataports to export data from a nav table to a txt.file
which can easily be imported into excel.

Nav also has an excel buffer where you can create a report & It can export
data right into excel. The large the data the slower the export tho as far
as the buffer goes.

There are several 100 posts on nav & excel on www.mibuso.com and a few
nav/excel downloads available too in the download section.

You can use sql reporting tools or crystal reports amongst others too.
for sql you'll need to set up the sql odbc and for native n/odbc for 3rd
party reporting tools.
 
Michelle said:
Hello, I need to be able to make some queries to be able to extract data
from a big Navision database. And I don't really know what I'm doing - I'm
an Excel VBA programmer, although not very tecchie...

Ideally I want to end up with data in Excel (maybe using Data-Import). Or I
could set up the queries in Access and then either use Access's reporting
tool or export data from Access into Excel. Someone told me that I need to
set up a DSN? to Navision. Is that true?

I'm not going to get a chance to look at the database for a couple of weeks,
but I want to be prepared. I'm not very good with database jargon, can
anyone tell me what I need to do in SIMPLE terms! Are there any complex
steps that I should research and practice before trying to do it for real.

Sorry if I sound like a simpleton - I'm a bit out of my depth here.

Thanks for any help/pointers

M
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