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I am trying to connect Excel 2016 for Mac (on OS X El Capitan, 10.11) to a PostgreSQL database through ODBC connection; so I downloaded the drivers, specifically Actual Open source Databases.

I set everything up, test the connection successfully, but as soon as I try to save the settings, Excel crashes.

Should I try to re-install Excel? Any advice is strongly appreciated!

(I know already, Excel sucks ... but I still need to establish the connection) Best, Vincenzo

TallTed
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XvincX
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1 Answers1

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Excel 2016 has issues (much more substantial in October 2015, but still present in November 2016). It's really not ready for prime time. Excel 2011 is a better bet, as things stand.

If you're stuck with Excel 2016, update to the latest iODBC (3.52.12, as of July 2016), create your DSN (System DSN recommended; User DSN may work for you) in iODBC Administrator.app (found in /Applications/iODBC/), and then use it with Excel.

(iODBC, produced by my employer, OpenLink Software, is the open source ODBC driver manager Apple has bundled into OS X since 10.2, but Apple remains several years behind the current iODBC version.)

TallTed
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  • It's now 2021, has the situation changed? I googled around and it seems people just gave up. – Henrietta Martingale Jul 26 '21 at 17:53
  • @HenriettaMartingale -- Many things have changed. I don't know what you're taking to be a sign that "people just gave up". MS Excel and Office 2016 have progressed to 2019 and 365; iODBC is now 3.52.15; macOS is 11.x on x86_64 or M1; and on and on and on. As always, the best troubleshooting advice for all of these is to make sure the latest versions are installed across the board. After that, I would suggest you start a new question or thread, if you're still running into trouble. – TallTed Jul 26 '21 at 19:32
  • Yes, but I'm still on excel 2016. I'm fine with it though. I bought a driver, life's too short. – Henrietta Martingale Jul 27 '21 at 19:59