How do I use ODBC as a data source in Cloud Reporting?

Bold Reports^® Cloud lets you connect to a data source by using an ODBC driver name or a DSN name.

What does the ODBC connector support?

The Web Report Designer connects through ODBC with the following options.

Item	Supported in Cloud Reporting
Databases	ClickHouse and Vertica only
Connection	Connection string with a system DSN name or a driver name
Query design	Query mode only. You write and execute a query.
Authentication types	Authentication, Prompt, None

How to choose the ODBC data source

In the Web Report Designer, you choose ODBC in the connection type panel after you click NEW DATA in the DATA configuration panel.

Click the Data icon in the configuration panel.
In the DATA configuration panel, click NEW DATA.
In the connection type panel, select ODBC.

How to configure ODBC connection properties

You configure an ODBC data source in the NEW DATASOURCE panel by entering a name, a connection string, and an authentication type.

After clicking the data source, the NEW DATASOURCE configuration panel opens. Follow these steps to create an ODBC data source:

Enter a data source name without special characters in the Name field. ODBC NEW DATASOURCE panel with the Name field

Only ClickHouse and Vertica databases are supported for connection via the ODBC connector.

Then enter a valid connection string and select an authentication type.

Connection string

Connection strings are the text representation of connection properties for a data provider. You can connect to the ODBC data source using either system DSN name or driver name.

To connect by using a system DSN, specify a connection string like the following example:

DSN=myDsn;Uid=myUsername;Pwd=;

ODBC connection string entered with a System DSN name

To connect by using a driver name, specify a connection string like the following example:

Driver=`{ClickHouse or Vertica odbc driver's name}`;OdbcKey1=someValue;OdbcKey2=someValue;

ODBC connection string entered with a driver name

Click Connect to open the query design pane. Enter the query and execute it. The query results appear in the preview grid. ODBC query design pane with query results in the preview grid

Only query mode is supported for ODBC data source.

Click Finish to save the data source and continue designing the report. Saved ODBC data source in the DATA configuration panel list

Authentication types

You can set database credentials, prompted credentials, or use no credentials.

ODBC authentication types list with database, prompt, and none

Authentication - A user name and password must be supplied to access the database, the credentials might be for a database login. The credentials are passed to the data source for authentication.

ODBC database authentication with username and password fields

Enable the Save password option to embed the credentials within the report when saving it in Bold Reports^® Report Server.

When you download the report, the credentials are not saved with the report data.

Prompt - When you configure a data source connection to use prompted credentials, each user who accesses the report must enter a user name and password on preview action to retrieve the data.

Prompt authentication selected for ODBC prompted credentials

None - Choose the authentication type as None, when the authentication details or any other arguments required to connect with the data source are provided in connection string.

Frequently asked questions

Which databases can I connect to through ODBC?

Only ClickHouse and Vertica. Other databases are not supported through the ODBC connector. Check the data connectors list for a dedicated connector.

Should I use a DSN or a driver connection string?

Either works. Use DSN=<dsn name>;Uid=<user>;Pwd=<password>; for a system DSN, or Driver={<ClickHouse or Vertica ODBC driver name>}; followed by the driver keys.