Creating a Citadel ODBC Data Source (DSC Module)

When you install the LabVIEW Datalogging and Supervisory Control (DSC) Module, the DSC Module automatically creates the following items:

• A Citadel database
• An ODBC data source
• A default System DSN with the same name as the Citadel database

If you remove a database from the ODBC connection, the DSC Module removes the corresponding DSN too, unless you modified the System DSN manually in the ODBC setup.

Complete the following steps to create a Citadel ODBC data source to use with the DSC Module.

1. Shut down all ODBC applications, such as databases, spreadsheets, word processors, and Microsoft Query, before you run the ODBC applet.
2. In the Windows Control Panel, navigate to the Administrative Tools folder.
3. Double-click the Data Sources (ODBC) shortcut to launch the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator.
4. Click the User DSN tab or the System DSN tab, depending on which type of data source you want to create. User DSNs are visible only to the user who created them on the current computer. System DSNs are available to all users on the current computer. Click the Add button.
5. Select National Instruments Citadel 5 Database, then click the Finish button.
6. In the National Instruments Citadel 5 ODBC Setup dialog box enter values in the Data Source Name, Description, and Database URL fields.
   • The Data Source Name is the name that ODBC applications use to select the data source and must be different from any other ODBC data source name.
   • Description is a free-form text string you can enter to describe the data source.
   • Database URL is the computer and database name for the data you intend to access, such as \\computer\database.
7. Click the Test Connection button to test the connection to the database.
8. Click the OK button in the National Instruments Citadel 5 ODBC Setup dialog box, then click OK in the ODBC Data Source Administrator dialog box.
   
   The DSC Module creates a default System DSN and a new Citadel database, both with the name you specified in the Data Source Name field.

Note  Some applications are not completely ODBC-compliant. If you plan to use Microsoft Query, Microsoft Access, or Visual Basic, make sure Maximum Column Name Length does not exceed 62 characters. These applications cannot handle longer names. Applications that are completely ODBC-compliant can handle names up to 126 characters long. The DSC Module generates aliases using internal trace IDs for all traces whose names exceed the Maximum Column Name Length. Shared variables that include network path information in their names might exceed the 62 and 126 character limitations of ODBC. Careful naming and organizing of objects can minimize the need for the DSC Module to generate aliases for lengthy shared variable names.

Some ODBC clients do not handle certain special characters in column and table names. The following table lists special characters in shared variable names and data set names and their replacements.

The special characters changed in ODBC 5. If you convert SQL queries from an earlier version of the ODBC driver, you might have to rewrite any SQL queries you set up in earlier processes.