Key Concepts > Management Topics > Using Excel To Export Data for Reports

This is an alternative method of exporting data from POSitive. By using Microsoft Excel, you can choose to link directly to POSitive's SQL data

Pre-Setup

You must first prepare the ODBC settings before you can use Excel and POSitive data together

1) Go to Windows Control Panel and search for ODBC. This should bring you to Administrative Tools and Data Sources (ODBC) or "Set up ODBC data sources (32-bit)"

Open the 32-bit option

2) Choose Add at the far right. Select "SQL Native Client" from the list. Choose Finish.

3) Fill in the following fields and choose Next

Name: POSitive

Description: POSitive Data

Server: (use the pull down. If it is not listed, then type in the correct server name. To find the correct path, login to POSitive, then click the Help pull-down menu at the top, choose About and look in the Data Path field)

4) Select "With SQL Server authentication using a login ID and password entered by the user" (never select "With Integrated Windows authentication")

Checkmark "Connect to SQL Server to obtain default settings for the additional configuration options.

Password: (This your SQL Server password)

5) Change the default database to the name of your POSitive database (See step 3:Server above) and choose NEXT (no other settings need to be changed)

6) Choose Finish (no other settings need to be changed)

7) Click Test Data Source button to make sure the connection is successful

Exporting Data

1) Run Excel

2) Under the Data pull down menu go to Import External Data and choose New Database Query

3) Highlight and choose OK

4) When prompted for the name of the datasource enter the name of your POSitive SQL database

5) When prompted to select a driver choose SQL Native Client

6) Choose Connect

7) When prompted for the Server enter the name of your SQL server

8) Enter sa in the Login ID field

9) Enter your SQL server password in the password field

10) Choose Options

12) Select your POSitive database in the Database field

13) Choose OK

14) Place a check next to save my user ID

15) Choose OK

16) On the Choose Data Source window highlight the definition that was just created and choose OK (Note: Steps 1 through 15 can be skipped if this needs to be done again on this computer)

17) Select the columns of data you want to get information from (Contact your dealer or POSitive Support for specifics as needed.)

The rest of the steps are in Excel.