Supported Database Types

A text file consists of text that is separated, or delimited, in a way that enables programs such as BarTender to read each separated section of text as an individual database field and to pull data from the database fields accordingly.

Delimiters are special characters that are used to separate the fields in a data file. BarTender supports several types of delimitation. The default text file delimitation method is Mixed Quote and Comma. For more information, refer to About Delimitation and Supported Delimitation Types.

BarTender supports various text file encodings and formats, including comma-separated values (CSV) and fixed-width fields.

Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet application. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications. BarTender supports all versions of Excel, including *.xls and *.xlsx files.

Microsoft Access is a database management system that combines the Microsoft Jet Database Engine with a user interface and software development tools. BarTender supports all versions of Access, including *.mdb and *.accdb extensions.

Note that you must have the appropriate drivers installed to run Excel or Access. These drivers are installed with Microsoft Office. If you do not have Office, you will need to go to the Microsoft website and download the drivers.

If you have a 64-bit computer and a 64-bit operating system, you can download 64-bit drivers from the Microsoft website. However, if you have a 32-bit computer, or a 64-bit computer and a 32-bit operating system, you must download a 32-bit driver.

Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database management system. As a database server, SQL Server has the primary function of storing and retrieving data as requested by other software applications. If you have SQL Server already set up on your computer or network, you can connect to it from the Database Setup Wizard. BarTender enables you to choose your authentication method. You can opt to use your current credentials (Windows Authentication) or specify the user name and password that were created with the database (Database Authentication). BarTender supports Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and later.

Oracle is an object-relational database management system. An Oracle database system comprises at least one instance of the application along with data storage. You connect to your Oracle database by using the Database Setup Wizard. When you connect, you can select your authentication method: either Windows Authentication or Database Authentication. BarTender supports Oracle 10g and later.

MySQL is an open-source relational database management system. MySQL's primary function is to store and retrieve data as requested by other software applications. It is most often used in small-to-medium scale single-server deployments, either as a component in a LAMP-based web application or as a standalone database server. You connect to MySQL from the Database Setup Wizard. When you connect, the wizard enables you to choose to use your current credentials (Windows Authentication) or to specify the user name and password that were created with the database (Database Authentication). BarTender supports MySQL 4.1 and later.

An Intermediate Document (IDoc) is a transactional message, in the form of a text file, sent from an SAP-connected program to other programs. Most of an IDoc message consists of fields of data that are grouped into segments. The segments themselves have a hierarchical relation to each other. For more information, refer to Using SAP IDoc Files.

Database (DB)2 is a group of relational database products that are offered by IBM. DB2 provides an open database environment that runs on a wide variety of computing platforms. Using Structured Query Language (SQL), users can obtain data simultaneously from DB2 and other databases. BarTender supports IBM DB2 10.50 and later.

IBM Informix is a product family within IBM's Information Management division that is centered on several relational database management system (RDBMS) types. The Informix server supports the object-relational model, which enables IBM to offer extensions that support data types that are not SQL standard. BarTender supports IBM Informix 11.10 and later.

PostgreSQL is an open-source, object-relational database system. PostgreSQL's primary function is to store and retrieve data as requested by other software applications. You connect to PostgreSQL from the Database Setup Wizard. When you connect, the wizard enables you to choose to use your current credentials (Windows Authentication) or to specify the user name and password that were created with the database (Database Authentication).

Firebird is an open-source, relational database management system. Its primary function is to store and retrieve data as requested by other software applications. You connect to Firebird from the Database Setup Wizard. When you connect, the wizard enables you to choose to use your current credentials (Windows Authentication) or to specify the user name and password that were created with the database (Database Authentication).

An OLE DB (Object Linking and Embedding Database) provider is a program that can retrieve information from a database and pass it to a requesting application, such as BarTender. Each type of database (such as Oracle or Access) requires its own provider program. OLE DB technology is similar in its purposes to ODBC but is newer and is compatible with a wider range of proprietary databases and data types.

A number of OLE DB providers are installed with Windows, and others can be obtained from database manufacturers. BarTender will connect to any database type that has an internal OLE DB driver.

To see what OLE DB data sources are available on your computer, create a plain text file and give it the file name extension ".udl". Double-click the file to open the Windows Data Link Properties dialog. Click the Providers tab to see the list of providers.

ODBC stands for Open Data Base Connectivity. An ODBC data source is a set of configuration information that specifies at least the following:

• An ODBC driver that is designed to read from a particular database format

• Depending on the database format, the name of either a directory or file that contains one or more tables

• A name for this set of information

ODBC is a technology that enables programs to read information from different data sources without having to understand specific details of the particular database format. This is done through the use of ODBC drivers. Because of the large number of available ODBC drivers, BarTender is able to read data from an enormous variety of data sources. These include every major database and spreadsheet format and text files that are other than standard delimited text files or fixed-width field text files.

When you select ODBC Connection from the Database Setup Wizard, BarTender can import data from any data source for which you have an ODBC driver. Although using a named ODBC data source does not require advanced knowledge of ODBC or the ODBC Administrator, understanding the basics of ODBC may be helpful.

ODBC drivers exist for all major database management systems, for many other data sources such as address book systems and Excel, and even for text or CSV files. To add, modify, or remove ODBC data sources, use the ODBC Data Source Administrator dialog.

BarTender will connect to any database type that has an internal ODBC driver.