Hi,

Im very new to RE and was wondering if it is possible to use Microsoft access to link to the RE tables (via ODBC).

Also is there a way of writing sql queries directly into RE? I have come from an Oracle/SQL background and i find the query part of RE to be a bit weak, and doesnt really seem to let you manipulate/query data in the same way you could if you could write your own SQL queries.

Hope that made sense - thanks in advance for any help!

James

Yes, it is possible and works great. We currently have two dynamic web programs set up in SQL and pull Raisers Edge data while using a Microsoft Access front end for our users. I believe there is some documentation available via Blackbaud with using with SQL that could help you. Good luck! Cyndee [i]--- Edited at 2/15/2008 12:56:11 PM by Cyndee Meeks[/i]

Hi,

 I have tried to connect to Raisers Edge using an odbc link within access, but i can only see 2 tables - dbo.sysconstraints and dbo.syssegments - how do i actually see the tables behind raisers edge?

James

 

 You're going to need a SQL login.  SQL does not recognize your Raiser's Edge login.  Your database administrator should be able to set you up with a SQL login.

Drew
 

Hi-

Don't I need to have API access to get to the tables?  To my knowledge, we can only access the tables via the query function.  Is this correct?

I have some complicated reports I have been asked to create, so additional access to the tables would be helpful.

Ideas?

Thanks,

Jo 

 

Jo Jenrette:

Don't I need to have API access to get to the tables?  To my knowledge, we can only access the tables via the query function.  Is this correct?

 

You're thinking of RODBA (Read Only Data Base Access).  This used to be true, but is no longer true since BB moved RE to SQL Server/Oracle.  Unless you are running on an older system, you do not need RODBA.

API (Application Programming Interface) is mostly used to write plug-ins, but can also be used to write stand-alone applications that access the RE data.

Drew 

You don't need API to access the tables. They are in SQL Server. You may not be able to access them because your system administrators do not allow you to but that is another issue.

You can access the tables through Access, SQL Server Query Analyzer, Enterprise manager or any other program that allows you to connect to a SQL Server or ODBC source.

One useful feature that is only available if you have unlocked Read Only Database "module" is you are able to see the SQL that Query uses when you generate a query through the Query module. (I am not sure if this is what you were referring to or not). I am not really sure how BB handle the RODBA module as it was originally set up when the database was Sybase and it was locked down. Nowadays everyone has access to their own SQL Server instance (unless you are using MSDE I suppose) and you can view the tables so whether this feature in Query has to be bought to be unlocked is a question for someone else to answer.

David

We use Access and ODBC datasource to do queries, reports, etc. We also have the VBA module. With this module, we get some documentation of the Raiser's Edge database, which I find very useful. This is available from:

Help > RE:VBA/API Help > Programmer Reference > Database Reference > Raiser's Edge Tables

For each table, it lists the fields including short description, Primary Key, Foreign Keys, Indexes, and Referenced By.

I do not know if this information is available elsewhere, for users who do not have the VBA module.

Lucy

 

 

 

How do you exactly change the SQL login and password?  Do I have to go into the server where RE is stored?

I've been trying to connect RE through Access for months but can't get by the SQL Server Login.

 Thanks!

Ruby

Our RE database is Oracle. It came with a pre-defined role called "BLACKBAUD_READ_ONLY". Our DBA created new a userid in the RE database and granted this role to it.

So, we use this new userid to read the RE tables from Access. We created an Access database, logged in with this new Userid and linked the RE tables we wanted to query.

BB does not make the password for user REUSER available for good reason. It has update rights and so you would not want to use it to login to the RE database from Access.

Hope this helps.

Lucy