Setting up an ODBC link

 

This is easy. It might not sound it; but it is.

 

Eventually we would like to replace the following description with a screencast. But for how now, here are some text and pictures. The thing to click is usually highlighted in blue in the picture.

 

Step 1: Click Start (the big green button usually on the bottom left of your screen)

 

Step 1a: Click "control Panel"

 

 

Step 2: Click the "administrative tools" icon.

 

Step 3: Click "Database sources (ODBC) Shortcut"

 

Step 4: In the "Create New Data Source" box, choose the source, in our example we have chosen "Microsoft Access Driver" but you could use a spreadsheet, or another database....

 

Step 5: In the "ODBC data source administrator box", click "Add".

 

Step 6: Choose a name for the data source, in the aptly named "Data Source Name" text box (we've called ours "GetDataIntoRExample"), and......

 

....Step 6a: Still on the same window as step 6, click "select" and seach your drive for wherever you filed your database, click on the database to select it.

 

Step 7: click "OK" lots of times!

 

Thats it! Now you can refer to the data source name in various programs (including R). Fantastic.