Connect through ODBC

2026-09-23
Morten Lønskov

Applies to:

❌ ~~Tabular Editor 2~~
Tabular Editor 3
✔ Desktop

✔ Business

✔ Enterprise

The ODBC connector connects to any source that has an ODBC driver and no dedicated connection dialog in Tabular Editor. For PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB and IBM Db2, Tabular Editor generates database-specific M expressions and identifier quoting. Select Model > Import tables... and choose ODBC to open the dialog.

The Choose ODBC source dialog, with a system DSN selected and a user name and password filled in

Prerequisites

An ODBC driver for the source that matches the architecture of your Tabular Editor build (x64 or ARM64). See Driver architecture.
A data source name (DSN) for the source, created in the 64-bit ODBC Data Source Administrator.

Important

A DSN exists only on the machine where you create it, and a model that imports through a DSN refreshes only on machines that have a DSN with the same name. If a service account runs the connection, use a System DSN.

Connection fields

Field	Description
Data Source Name (DSN)	A System DSN or User DSN configured on this machine. Required
Username and Password	Credentials passed to the driver, if the DSN requires them
Additional connection string properties (optional)	Extra connection string settings, passed to the driver unchanged
Row reduction clause and Identifier quoting	The SQL syntax Tabular Editor uses to limit preview rows and quote names. Select Detect to read both from the driver

Authentication

The driver and DSN determine how you sign in:

Authentication	What you supply	Interactive sign-in
DSN credentials	Nothing. The DSN carries integrated authentication or stored credentials	No
User name and password	Username and Password in the dialog, passed to the driver	No

Tabular Editor saves the connection settings and credentials in your user options file (see Where credentials are stored).

Driver architecture

Tabular Editor 3 lists only 64-bit DSNs, so a DSN created in the 32-bit ODBC Data Source Administrator doesn't appear. If a DSN is missing, create it in the 64-bit ODBC Data Source Administrator (odbcad32.exe in C:\Windows\System32).