ODBC Connector

Using the ODBC Connector

Ciiva’s ODBC support enables tighter integration with other software applications in the toolchain, such as EDA tools like Altium Designer and Mentor Graphics PADS/Expedition (via DxDataBook). Any software applications which support querying via ODBC (e.g. ERP systems, EDA and CAD tools, Microsoft Excel, etc.) can directly access the Ciiva component library.

Please note that the ODBC data source is read only. That means that you cannot make changes to the Ciiva component library by updating the ODBC data source. Changes to the component library must be made by the Ciiva client. Any changes to the ODBC data source will be overwritten when it is synchronised with the component library.

A limitation of 50 components are imposed on “Free” databases when the ODBC connector reads from the Ciiva component library. For “Pro” databases, there is no component limit.

Download Drivers

In order to use the ODBC connector, you need to install the SQLite ODBC driver(s), otherwise a reminder will be shown when you try to enable the ODBC feature in the Ciiva client. The drivers can be found at http://ciiva.com/bill-of-materials-software/download. For 32 bit operating systems, you need to install the 32 bit version of the ODBC driver. For 64 bit operating systems, we recommend you install both versions of the driver to allow 32 bit applications which may be running on your system to also access the data source.

Configure Your Ciiva Client

Once you have installer the drivers, start the Ciiva client, and click on the “Settings” toolbar button and select the “ODBC Configuration” tab. You will see the following configuration parameters:

1. Default location for data sources: This is where the ODBC data source file (*.db) is located. By default, this is the documents folder for the logged in user.
2. Enable component library ODBC support: Tick this checkbox to turn on the ODBC connector.
3. Component library data source name: This is the name of the data source as it will appear in the ODBC data source list.
4. Auto-refresh interval: This defines the interval at which the connector will synchronise with the Ciiva component library.
5. Synchronise data source on component library update: If checked, an update of any component object in the component library in the Ciiva client application will be automatically synchronised with the ODBC data source.
6. Supported Component Types: Here you can configure which combination of the three types of component are accessible by the connector.
7. Included Base/Manufacturer/Supplier Component Attributes: Here you can configure, for each component type, which attributes are accessible by the connector.

When you have finished making your configuration changes, click “ODBC Synchronise” toolbar button to create and synchronise the ODBC data source, and your Ciiva ODBC connector is ready for use!

Connecting to the ODBC data source with Microsoft Excel

For the purpose of demonstration, the following steps describe how to connect to the newly created ODBC data source using Microsoft Excel.

1. Open an empty Excel datasheet and in the Data tab, select “From Other Sources” – “From Microsoft Query”.
    

   

2. Choose the ODBC data source you have just created from the list of available data sources, which is “Ciiva Component Library” by default. Then click OK.
    

   

3. Choose the ODBC data source attributes you want to include. If you want to include all of them, select “Ciiva Component Library” and click the single arrow to import all.
    

   

4. Click through the following dialog boxes using the “Next” button until the query wizard is complete. Now you will see your component library displayed in this datasheet. As previously mentioned, if you are working with a “Free” database, this datasheet will be restricted to a maximum of 50 rows.
    

   

5. Next we will see how the Excel datasheet is synchronised with the component library. In the component library, select a base component (for example, “Fuse-0458002.DR”) and change the “Rating” attribute from 2A to 5A, and “Min Temp” and “Max Temp” attributes to 20 and 80 respectively. Click Update.
    

   

6. If you have enabled “Synchronise data source on component library update” in the ODBC configuration, the data source will have been automatically synchronised with the component library.
7. If this option is not enabled, then you will need to wait for the interval specified by the parameter “Auto-refresh interval” before the data source is sychronised.
8. If both synchronisation mechansims are disabled, you will need to need to click the “ODBC Synchronise” toolbar button to manually synchronise the data source.
9. Click “Refresh All” in the “Data” toolbar, and the data will be automatically updated. Please note that any changes made to the data inside Excel will be overwritten when the data source is synchronised with the component library.