Frequently Asked Questions
If you don't find the answer to your question, or if you continue to have problems after following the instructions below, please contact us at support@actualtechnologies.com.
General
Our drivers allow you to connect to your database from within FileMaker Pro 6 or later (including FileMaker 9) for Mac OS X. In order to do so, however, you must first make sure that a file named "ODBC Driver Manager" does NOT exist in a folder named CFMSupport in the Library folder of your boot disk. If you do have this file, we suggest you temporarily move it to your Desktop or some other safe place while using the Actual ODBC driver. You will need to Quit and restart FileMaker to use the Actual ODBC driver.
The reason for removing this file is because FileMaker can connect to either the proprietary Data Direct drivers or the standard Apple supported iODBC style drivers, but not both at the same time. Our ODBC drivers conform to the iODBC standard. The removed file is required for connecting to the Data Direct drivers, which keeps you from connecting to iODBC style drivers. You should put the "ODBC Driver Manager" file back in the CFMSupport folder if you have a need to continue using a Data Direct driver.
Also, FileMaker will only show System DSN's (and not User DSN's) if you have the FileMaker Pro 7 xDBC Plugin and JDBC Client Driver plug-in installed and you have enabled "ODBC/JDBC Sharing" in the FileMaker Pro -> Sharing menu. This plug-in is used if you want to let other applications (such as MS Excel or the FileMaker Datagraph Dashboard widget) access your FileMaker data. In order to use our drivers with the plug-in installed, you should either decide to just use System DSN's or temporarily disable the "ODBC/JDBC Sharing" radio button when connecting to a User DSN.
You should use the Apple ODBC Administrator for OS X 10.4 "Tiger" or later. For OS X 10.2 "Jaguar" and OS X 10.3 "Panther", you must use the iODBC / OpenLink Administrator
In OS X 10.2 and 10.3, the Apple ODBC Administrator had a bug that causes it to not call a driver's setup dialog when configuring a data source. This means that when you use the Apple ODBC Administrator to configure a data source, the Actual ODBC Driver setup assistant is not displayed. The setup assistant is crucial to configuring the data source, so we had no choice but to use the iODBC Administrator, which correctly invokes the setup assistant.
Apple has fixed the bug in the ODBC Administrator for OS X 10.4 "Tiger".
Make sure you are using the latest version of the driver. If you are still not able to save a System DSN, make sure you have read / write permissions on the /Library/ODBC/odbc.ini file.
SQL Server
In most cases, you should just use the IP address of the server. You can use the name of the server if you have added an entry for the server using the NetInfo Manager utility.
Version 1.1 and later of the driver allows you to set the port by pressing the Client Configuration button on the Connection panel (the panel where you specify if you are connecting to Microsoft SQL Server or Sybase). A dialog will be displayed that lets you set the port number.
If you get this message after waiting more than 60 seconds, then you either have the wrong IP address for the server or the server is not reachable from your Mac. Use the Ping and Trace Route tools of the Network Utility application in the /Applications/Utilities folder to verify you can reach your server's IP address.
If you get this message immediately, then you either have the wrong port or the port is being blocked by the network equipment (such as a router or firewall). Use the Port Scan tool of the Network Utility application to verify your server is listening on the port you have configured, and the port is reachable from your Mac.
When you use the Port Scan tool to scan the default port 1433, you should see a message that says:
Open Port: 1433 ms-sql-s
NOTE: if the only message you see is "Port Scan has completed", then the server is not listening on that port, or the port is not reachable from your Mac! Contact your database administrator or network support staff to determine the correct port or to have the port opened on your organization's network equipment.
Finally, the latest service packs from Microsoft should be applied to the SQL Server. Your database administrator should be able to tell you whether the latest service pack has been applied. This is particularly important if the server is also concurrently running an instance of the Microsoft Desktop Engine (MSDE).
Unlike the Windows ODBC driver, you should NOT enter the instance name in the server field in the form "server name\instance name". Instead, enter the IP address in the server field. Then enter the port used by the named instance using the Client Configuration button on the Connection panel of the driver DSN setup assistant.
You can determine the port used by the instance by using the Server Network Utility in the Microsoft SQL Server program group on the Windows server where your database resides. Select the instance name from the drop down list and select TCP/IP from the list of enabled protocols. Then press the Properties button and note the listed port number.
MySQL
If you are sure you are using the correct user ID and password, then its possible that your MySQL database account has not been configured for remote access. Please see these instructions which detail how to setup your account so it can be accessed remotely.
If your hosting provider supports it, you can connect to your database using an SSH tunnel. See these instructions for more information.
You should download and install the latest version of the Actual ODBC Driver for Open Source Databases. Earlier versions of the driver were not compatible with MySQL 4.1 or later. The latest version of the driver is compatible with the latest Generally Available version of MySQL.
Online Store
Besides Visa, MasterCard and American Express, we also accept PayPal, checks, wire transfers, and purchase orders. We are a PayPal Verified Merchant. Send us an e-mail at orders@actualtechnologies.com for more information.
Our credit card processor can be a little picky with our international customers. Send us an e-mail at orders@actualtechnologies.com with all of your information EXCEPT your credit card number, and we will try to get your order accepted. NEVER send your credit card number unencrypted through e-mail!
