Building Connection to Access 2013 64 bit DB

[staciann]

Hi there. A bit of background - We need to report on SharePoint lists and do not (and will not) have the ability to do so with SQL reporting services. Our backdoor way around this for the past two years is that we create an Access database and link all of our SharePoint lists as external data sources, then connect CR to the Access DB and pull data from there. This worked fantastic until our upgrade.

We recently upgraded to SharePoint 2013 on prem. I am the primary (sole) developer/admin. That being said, it was necessary I upgrade to Office 2013. I also upgraded CR to 2013. I realize that CR is in 32 bit. My system and Office installation are 64 bit. My Office installation has to stay 64 bit in order to work with other programs that are running on 64 bit.

After building our new SP system, I created a new Access DB and attempted to create a connection in CR so I could rebuild some of my old reports. However, when I go to setup the new connection, I am now getting the dreaded "Unrecognized Database Format" error when I select my Access 2013 DB file.

Can any of you tell me what I can do to resolve this? I'm hoping there is something simple that I am missing...

Thank you!

Staci

Currently using Windows 7, Microsoft Office 2013, Crystal Reports 2013, Visual Studio 2010 & 2008, SharePoint 2013 (on prem), MS Dynamics CRM 2013 (online), MS Dynamics SL Version 7.0, Adobe CS5

 

[PeterDimitrov]

If you are trying to create an ODBC connection try OLE DB or DAO. ODBC connection for Access 64 should be 64 bits too , but Crystal designer is 32 bits so you will be not able to use it. The other option is to install Access 2013 runtime or 2010 redistributable in order to have 32 bits access :

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=39358

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=13255

If you decide to do this , try it first on a test machine. Mixing 32 and 64 bit version might be a problem

http://www.R-Tag.com

Viewer and Scheduler for Crystal reports and SSRS.

 

[hilfy]

It might be as easy as just creating a 32-bit ODBC connection - Crystal won't read 64-bit connections. To do this, you need to run the 32-bit version of the ODBC administrator from here: C:\Windows\SysWOW64\odbcad32.exe

-Dell

DecisionFirst Technologies - Seven-time SAP BusinessObjects Solution Partner of the Year

http://www.decisionfirst.com

 

[staciann]

Thank you. Can you tell me what I need to do (or should have added) once I'm in the ODBC Data Source Administrator? How do I add a 32-bit connection? As soon as it opens, under User DSN, is lists "MS Access Database."





Staci

Currently using Windows 7, Microsoft Office 2013, Crystal Reports 2013, Visual Studio 2010 & 2008, SharePoint 2013 (on prem), MS Dynamics CRM 2013 (online), MS Dynamics SL Version 7.0, Adobe CS5

 

[hilfy]

Actually, you need to create it under the "System DSN" tab. Click on "Add" and follow the wizard to create your DSN.

-Dell

DecisionFirst Technologies - Seven-time SAP BusinessObjects Solution Partner of the Year

http://www.decisionfirst.com

 

[staciann]

I've added the driver successfully and ran from the 32 bit ODBC, but my database still won't connect. I've also tried installing CR and Access 2013 32bit on another machine. I rebuilt the database and saved it in the 32bit version and CR won't read that either. Is it just an issue with Office 2013 in general? It will still show my 2010 and 2007 databases with the .accdb extension, just not the ones I've built in 2013. And I really need it to work with 2013 as we're upgrading all of our users early next year.

Staci

Currently using Windows 7, Microsoft Office 2013, Crystal Reports 2013, Visual Studio 2010 & 2008, SharePoint 2013 (on prem), MS Dynamics CRM 2013 (online), MS Dynamics SL Version 7.0, Adobe CS5

 

[hilfy]

You need to make sure that you have SP01 of Crystal 2013 in order to get support for Access 2013.

-Dell

DecisionFirst Technologies - Seven-time SAP BusinessObjects Solution Partner of the Year

http://www.decisionfirst.com

 

[staciann]

I have SP 1 installed. Am I missing something else?

Staci

Currently using Windows 7, Microsoft Office 2013, Crystal Reports 2013, Visual Studio 2010 & 2008, SharePoint 2013 (on prem), MS Dynamics CRM 2013 (online), MS Dynamics SL Version 7.0, Adobe CS5

 

[PeterDimitrov]

I am not using Access often but as far as I know the format used in Access 2013 is the same as the one in Access 2010 and you can open a 2013 database with Office 2010. My guess is that the issue is not related to 2013 but to 32/64 bit.
Just to make sure that 2013 is not part of the problem try to save the database to 2002-2003 version: File -> SaveAs ... -> Access 2002-2003. Check if the linked lists will update after the downgrade.

What are you trying to do with the data - to present it as a table, crosstab, chart, dashboard ... ?
I will be interested to see your environment. Let me know if this is an option.

http://www.R-Tag.com

Viewer and Scheduler for Crystal reports and SSRS.

 

[staciann]

So I finally got this to work using an ADO connection on a 32 bit Windows install and a 32 bit Office install. Not my ideal solution since I have to use a separate machine, but it did work. Thanks guys!

Staci

Currently using Windows 7, Microsoft Office 2013, Crystal Reports 2013, Visual Studio 2010 & 2008, SharePoint 2013 (on prem), MS Dynamics CRM 2013 (online), MS Dynamics SL Version 7.0, Adobe CS5