Re: Accessing Oracle via ODBC; sample macros for Excel ?

We have had similar good results using MS-Excel under Windows 3.1 going against an Oracle server under Netware. In this case, we are using SQL*Net IPX/SPX (not the TCP/IP version).

In the Oracle.INI file, you can set default servers and default connect strings. We also have our users set up with OPS$ accounts so they can get right in (provided they log into Netware first). With the defaults set, users can connect via MS-Query just by clicking on the data source. Very easy to use.

I have an end user here who developed a fairly sophisticated pivot table in Excel that goes against 4 or 5 Oracle tables for the source data.

One thing that may help is to create views in the database for combinations of tables that are used frequently. We name all of our views starting with V_ so all they have to do is look for that in the list of views.

We did have some problems with clients crashing but new SQL*Net seems to have cleared that up.

BTW, we are using the Intersolv Q+E ODBC drivers. The first Oracle ODBC drivers were too buggy for our purposes so we bit the bullet and got the Intersolv product which works flawlessly.

Hope that helps . . .

Rich Holowczak
Rutgers University
holowcza_at_andromeda.rutgers.edu Received on Thu Dec 22 1994 - 04:03:09 CET