Page 652 - Excel 2013 All-in-One For Dummies

634 External Data Query
Figure 2-16:
Using the Choose Data Source dialog box to create
a new database query.
3. Enter a descriptive name for the database query in the What Name Do You Want to Give Your Data Source text box.
By naming the data source definition, you can reuse it without having
to go through all these tedious steps for defining it. Next, you need to select a driver for your data source from the Select a Driver for the Type of Database You Want to Access drop-down list box. This list contains drivers for all the most popular PC databases, such as Access, dBASE, Paradox, and FoxPro, as well as an SQL driver for sophisticated database- management systems, such as dB2 and an ODBC Oracle driver for query- ing an Oracle database (to name a few).
4. Select the name of the driver to be used from the Select a Driver for the Type of Database You Want to Access drop-down list box.
Now you’re ready to select the database to be accessed.
5. Click the Connect button in the Create New Data Source dialog box.
This action opens a dialog box where you can select the database to be used. For example, if you select Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb) as the driver in the Create New Data Source dialog box, Excel opens an ODBC Microsoft Access Setup dialog box.
6. Click the Select button, locate the folder that contains the database file that you want to query in the Select Database dialog box, and then click OK.
After you’ve selected the database to work with, you have completed the first major step of specifying the data source to use in your external query.
7. Click OK in the Setup dialog box for the type of database that you’re accessing.
This action returns you to the Create New Data Source dialog box (shown in Figure 2-17), which now displays the name of the database that you selected. If you want, you can specify a default table to use in