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How do I access ODBC databases such as Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Access, and Microsoft Excel from FileMaker Pro?

Use the ODBC-ODBC Bridge to access ODBC databases such as Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Access, and Microsoft Excel from FileMaker Pro. For example, import data from SQL Server to FileMaker Pro on macOS. Do this by using the ODBC-ODBC Bridge to access the Microsoft SQL Server ODBC driver on Windows.

Download and install the ODBC-ODBC Bridge client for your FileMaker Pro platform. Download and install the ODBC-ODBC Bridge server for your ODBC driver platform. Set up and test an ODBC-ODBC Bridge client data source that points to a system DSN for the target ODBC driver.

The following example describes how to connect FileMaker Pro on macOS to SQL Server.

  1. Download the macOS ODBC-ODBC Bridge client and the Windows ODBC-ODBC Bridge server.
  2. Install the ODBC-ODBC Bridge client on the macOS machine where FileMaker Pro is installed. Install the ODBC-ODBC Bridge server on the Windows machine where the Microsoft SQL Server ODBC driver is installed.

    For installation instructions, refer to the ODBC-ODBC Bridge documentation.

  3. If you've not already done so, in the Windows ODBC Data Source Administrator, create a SQL Server system DSN
  4. In the macOS ODBC Administrator, create an ODBC-ODBC Bridge client data source.

    The following example data source points to an ODBC-ODBC Bridge server on a host named mywindowsserver where there's a SQL Server system DSN called sqlserversystemdsn. The LogonUser and LogonAuth values are a valid Windows user name and password that can be used to log on to mywindowsserver. The TargetUser and TargetAuth values are a valid SQL Server database login.

    Setting Value
    Name (DSN tab) ODBC-ODBC Bridgesqlserver
    Servers (Servers tab) mywindowsserver:8888
    Username (Servers tab) mywindowsusername
    Password (Servers tab) mywindowspassword
    TargetDSN (TargetDSN tab) sqlserversystemdsn
    TargetUser (TargetDSN tab) sqlserverusername
    TargetAuth (TargetDSN tab) sqlserverpassword

    For more information about ODBC-ODBC Bridge client data source configuration, refer to the ODBC-ODBC Bridge documentation.

  5. In Terminal, use iodbctest to test the ODBC-ODBC Bridge client data source. For example: 
    iodbctest "DSN=ODBC-ODBC Bridgesqlserver"
SELECT 1 AS test_column

After you've created and tested the ODBC-ODBC Bridge client data source, use it from FileMaker Pro to query the remote database, import data or create a new FileMaker Pro database file. The FileMaker Pro documentation contains information about how to do this.

The following steps show how to create a new FileMaker file on macOS by using data imported from a SQL Server database.

  1. In FileMaker Pro, on the File menu, choose Open. In the Open dialog box, choose Show, and then choose ODBC Data Source from the list.
  2. Choose the ODBC-ODBC Bridge client data source, and then choose Continue.
  3. When prompted, enter the SQL Server database login user name and password that you supplied when configuring the ODBC-ODBC Bridge client data source. Then choose OK.
  4. In the SQL Query Builder, use the SELECT, WHERE, and ORDER BY tabs to generate a query that retrieves the records you want to import. Then choose Execute.
  5. Save the new FileMaker file.