Chapter 3 Installing FileMaker ODBC client drivers. Filemaker Pro 19, FileMaker Pro 19

Chapter 3

Installing FileMaker ODBC client drivers

To access a hosted FileMaker Pro database file as an ODBC data source, you need to install the

ODBC client driver. These instructions help you install the ODBC client driver needed to access

FileMaker data from third-party and custom applications via ODBC. Install the client driver on the machine where the third-party application is installed.

As described below, the ODBC client driver is available through a separate installation on your

FileMaker product installation disk or electronic download in the xDBC folder.

Check for updates to the client drivers on the downloads and resources page .

If you’ll be hosting a FileMaker Pro database file using FileMaker Server, make the client drivers available to remote users.

After installing the client driver you need, you can configure the driver to access FileMaker data and construct SQL queries to interact with the data.

Hardware and software requirements

To install and use the ODBC client drivers, you need to meet the minimum hardware and software requirements described in system requirements .

Networking requirements

If you’ll be accessing a FileMaker data source hosted on another computer, you’ll need network access via TCP/IP.

ODBC client access to FileMaker Cloud for AWS

For information on connecting an ODBC client application to a databases hosted by

FileMaker Cloud for AWS, see FileMaker Cloud for AWS help.

ODBC client driver architecture overview (Windows)

FileMaker software provides 32-bit and 64-bit client drivers for Windows, to support 32-bit and 64bit ODBC applications.

You must install the client driver that matches your ODBC application, not your operating system:

1 If your ODBC application is a 32-bit application, then install the 32-bit client driver.

1 If your ODBC application is a 64-bit application, then install the 64-bit client driver.

ODBC client driver installation (Windows)

Windows 32-bit and 64-bit client drivers are installed as separate libraries. On a 32-bit version of the Windows operating system, you can install the 32-bit client driver only. On a 64-bit version of the Windows operating system, you can install both the 32-bit and 64-bit client drivers.

Chapter 3 | Installing FileMaker ODBC client drivers 13

To install the ODBC client driver:

1. Do one of the following:

1 If you received your software electronically, double-click the installation icon (.exe file).

1 If you have an installation disk, insert the disk into the drive.

2. In the FileMaker Pro or FileMaker Server window, double-click the Extras folder.

3. Double-click the xDBC folder.

4. In the xDBC folder, double-click the ODBC Client Driver Installer folder.

5. In the ODBC Client Driver Installer folder, double-click the installer file for the driver you want to install.

1 To install the 32-bit client driver (fmodbc32.dll), use the 32-bit installer file:

FMODBC_Installer_Win32.msi

1 To install the 64-bit client driver (fmodbc64.dll), use the 64-bit installer file:

FMODBC_Installer_Win64.msi

6. Install the ODBC client driver by following the onscreen instructions.

7. When the installation is complete, click Close .

By default, the ODBC client driver will be installed in this folder:

1 On a 32-bit version of the Windows operating system, the 32-bit client driver (fmodbc32.dll) is installed in C:\Windows\System32

1 On a 64-bit version of the Windows operating system, the 32-bit client driver (fmodbc32.dll) is installed in C:\Windows\SysWOW64

1 On a 64-bit version of the Windows operating system, the 64-bit client driver (fmodbc64.dll) is installed in C:\Windows\System32

The ODBC client driver, FileMaker ODBC , is now available for you to configure for accessing

FileMaker data.

Configuring client drivers (Windows)

Before using an ODBC client application to access FileMaker data, you must configure a client driver for the data source. Configuration settings identify the client driver you’re using, the location of the data source, and details on how you intend to connect.

Important When using a FileMaker client driver, you must reserve 2399 as the port.

Opening the ODBC administrator (Windows)

To open the ODBC administrator, use the Administrative Tools control panel in the System and

Security category.

To open the 32-bit ODBC administrator on a 32-bit Windows operating system:

In Windows Control Panel, open Administrative Tools > Data Sources (ODBC) .

Chapter 3 | Installing FileMaker ODBC client drivers 14

To open the 32-bit ODBC administrator on a 64-bit Windows operating system:

In Windows Control Panel, open Administrative Tools > ODBC Data Sources (32-bit) .

To open the 64-bit ODBC administrator on a 64-bit Windows operating system:

In Windows Control Panel, open Administrative Tools > ODBC Data Sources (64-bit) .

Configuring the DSN (Windows)

To configure the ODBC client driver:

1. In the ODBC Data Source Administrator, select the System DSN or User DSN tab. You create a DSN for each FileMaker Pro database file you want to access as a data source.

2. Click Add .

3. Select FileMaker ODBC , and click Finish .

4. Click Next .

5. For Name , enter a name that will be meaningful to others accessing the FileMaker data source.

For Description , enter an optional description of the FileMaker data source. Click Next .

6. For Host :

1 If you’re connecting to a database file hosted by FileMaker Pro on your local machine, enter localhost or the IP address

127.0.0.1

.

1 If you’re connecting to a database file hosted by FileMaker Server over a network, enter the domain name that is specified by the server’s SSL certificate.

If you have enabled sharing via ODBC/JDBC in the host application, you can select Connect to host to obtain the names of available databases .

The FileMaker XDBC Listener uses the SSL certificate installed in the CStore folder on the server if a certificate is available. For security reasons, indicate whether to make a connection when the SSL certificate cannot be verified.

1 Select Connect to have the ODBC process always connect.

1 Select Connect with warning to allow the ODBC process to connect, but also provide a warning message.

1 Select Do not connect to have the connection fail and return an error message.

Click Next .

Otherwise, click Finish to save your data source information.

7. For Database , select a database from the list of available databases, or type the filename of the FileMaker Pro database file you’re using as a data source.

Note For database files hosted by FileMaker Server, the list of databases may be filtered based on the Filter Databases setting. See FileMaker Server Help. The sample file

FMServer_Sample cannot be used to test ODBC connections. To test ODBC connections, upload your own database.

1 If you need special handling of non-English text, click Advanced Language .

Chapter 3 | Installing FileMaker ODBC client drivers 15

To auto-detect language settings, select the Auto-detect language settings for application option. To specify the language setting, clear the Auto-detect language settings for application option and select the system setting you want to use.

For the Multi-byte text encoding option, select System or select UTF-8 . For example, some applications such as Microsoft Excel may expect text to be encoded using the System encoding, but web applications may expect text to be encoded using UTF-8 encoding. If the application expects a specific encoding but this option specifies a different encoding, then the application may display some characters incorrectly. FileMaker software supports UTF-

8 multibyte characters consisting of up to three bytes.

1 Select the Describe text fields as long varchar option to correct issues with long field values, such as using fields that do not have a maximum length specified in Microsoft Word

Mail Merge import, or field values in PHP applications that are longer than 255 characters. If you do not use this option for field values longer than 255 characters, then your application may retrieve an empty string (Windows) or only 255 characters (macOS).

1 If you want to create a log file for long-running queries, select the Save long-running queries to a log file option, and enter the name for the log file.

Click Finish to save your data source information.

8. Review the information about your FileMaker DSN.

1 Click Test to verify that you have correctly configured the ODBC client driver to access the

FileMaker data source.

If you receive an error message, you can correct the connection information. You may also need to check that the FileMaker Pro database file is hosted and available, that the

FileMaker file account specified uses a privilege set with the fmxdbc extended privilege for access via ODBC/JDBC, and that the FileMaker Server, FileMaker Pro, or FileMaker Cloud host application has been set up for sharing via ODBC/JDBC.

1 Click Done to save your data source information.

ODBC client driver installation (macOS)

The client driver is installed to the /Library/ODBC folder.

To install the ODBC client driver:

1. Do one of the following:

1 If you received your software electronically, double-click the disk image icon (.dmg file).

1 If you have an installation disk, insert the disk into the drive.

2. In the FileMaker Pro or FileMaker Server window, double-click the Extras folder.

3. Double-click the xDBC folder.

4. In the xDBC folder, double-click the ODBC Client Driver Installer folder.

5. In the ODBC Client Driver Installer folder, double-click FileMaker ODBC.pkg

.

6. Install the ODBC client driver by following the onscreen instructions.

Chapter 3 | Installing FileMaker ODBC client drivers 16

7. When the installation is complete, click Close .

The ODBC client driver will be installed in this folder: /Library/ODBC

Note You cannot change the installation folder for the ODBC client driver.

The ODBC client driver, FileMaker ODBC , is now available for you to configure for accessing

FileMaker data.

Configuring client drivers (macOS)

Before using an ODBC client application to access FileMaker data, you must configure a client driver for the data source. Configuration settings identify the client driver you’re using, the location of the data source, and details on how you intend to connect.

These instructions assume you have installed the ODBC Manager from Actual Technologies, which is a freeware product not supported by Claris ® .

Important When using a FileMaker client driver, you must reserve 2399 as the port.

To configure the ODBC client driver:

1. Launch the ODBC Manager utility. (ODBC Manager is installed in the Utilities folder in the

Applications folder.)

2. Select the System DSN or User DSN tab. You create a DSN for each FileMaker Pro database file you want to access as a data source.

3. Click Add .

4. Select FileMaker ODBC , and click OK .

5. Click Continue .

6. For Name , enter a name that will be meaningful to others accessing the FileMaker data source.

For Description , enter an optional description of the FileMaker data source. Click Continue .

7. For Host :

1 If you’re connecting to a database file hosted by FileMaker Pro on your local machine, enter localhost or the IP address

127.0.0.1

.

1 If you’re connecting to a database file hosted by FileMaker Server over a network, enter the domain name that is specified by the server’s SSL certificate.

If you have enabled sharing via ODBC/JDBC in the host application, you can select Connect to host to obtain the names of available databases .

The FileMaker XDBC Listener uses the SSL certificate installed in the CStore folder on the server if a certificate is available. For security reasons, indicate whether to make a connection when the SSL certificate cannot be verified.

1 Select Connect to have the ODBC process always connect.

1 Select Connect with warning to allow the ODBC process to connect, but also provide a warning message.

1 Select Do not connect to have the connection fail and return an error message.

Chapter 3 | Installing FileMaker ODBC client drivers 17

Click Continue .

Otherwise, click Finish to save your data source information.

8. For Database , select a database from the list of available databases, or type the filename of the FileMaker Pro database file you’re using as a data source.

Note For database files hosted by FileMaker Server, the list of databases may be filtered based on the Filter Databases setting. See FileMaker Server Help. The sample file

FMServer_Sample cannot be used to test ODBC connections. To test ODBC connections, upload your own database.

1 If you need special handling of non-English text, click Advanced Language .

To auto-detect language settings, select the Auto-detect language settings for application option. To specify the language setting, clear the Auto-detect language settings for application option and select a system setting.

If your application uses ODBC functions with character buffers whose characters are 4 bytes wide, select the Application uses the "wide" ODBC API option.

If you want the

SQL_C_CHAR

text type to be interpreted by the driver as the

SQL_C_WCHAR text type, select the Treat text types as Unicode option.

For the Multi-byte text encoding option, select System (MacRoman) or select UTF-8 . For example, some applications such as Microsoft Excel may expect text to be encoded using the System encoding, but web applications may expect text to be encoded using UTF-8 encoding. If the application expects a specific encoding but this option specifies a different encoding, then the application may display some characters incorrectly. FileMaker software supports UTF-8 multibyte characters consisting of up to three bytes.

1 Select the Describe text fields as long varchar option to correct issues with long field values, such as fields that do not have a maximum length specified getting used for Microsoft

Word Mail Merge import, or field values in PHP applications that are longer than 255 characters.

1 If you want to create a log file for long-running queries, select the Save long-running queries to a log file option, and enter the name for the log file. You can also change the

Long query time value.

Click Finish to save your data source information.

9. Review the information about your FileMaker DSN.

1 Click Test to verify that you have correctly configured the ODBC client driver to access the

FileMaker data source.

If you receive an error message, you can correct the connection information. You may also need to check that the FileMaker Pro database file is hosted and available, that the

FileMaker file account specified uses a privilege set with the fmxdbc extended privilege for access via ODBC/JDBC, and that the FileMaker Server, FileMaker Pro, or FileMaker Cloud for AWS host application has been set up for sharing via ODBC/JDBC.

1 Click Done to save your data source information.

Chapter 3 | Installing FileMaker ODBC client drivers 18

Where to go from here

After you install and configure a client driver, you can construct and execute SQL queries to access FileMaker data.

Client applications sometimes use different terminology for accessing a data source via ODBC.

Many applications have menu items with names such as Get external data or SQL query . Review the documentation or Help that comes with your application for details.

See chapter 4, “Using ODBC to share FileMaker data.”