Quipu JDBC connection to MS Access

There are several ways to connect to a MS Access database from Java, like the low-level MS Access library called Jackcess: http://jackcess.sourceforge.net/

The downside is that most Java applications that support heterogeneous connections have a default built-in procedure to connect and open the database. Most of the time, the "getSchemanames" function is called and this one doesn't function as expected with MS Access. Quipu uses this method also.

Therefore, a connection can be made in the following way, but results in an error when retrieving the schema names during reverse engineering with Quipu from MS Access

1) JDBC to ODBC bridge

Create a connection to the MS Access database d:\test.mdb using a native and DSN-less JDBC to ODBC bridge:

Manage connection types:
Add a new connection type:

name= ms access jdbc
type= jdbc
database or file delimiter=
database or file required= false
jdbc port delimiter= :
jdbc default port=
jdbc driver= sun.jdbc.odbc.JdbcOdbcDriver
url type= jdbc:odbc:Driver={Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb, *.accdb)};DBQ=

Manage connections:
Add a new connection:

name: ms access jdbc
database= test.mdb
hostname= d
port= /

Notes:

• The url type above is for Java x64 and MS Access x64. If Java x32 is used, then the url type= jdbc:odbc:Driver={Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb)};DBQ=
• No additional jdbc driver (jar file) needs to be installed, because the driver is embedded in the Java JRE runtime

There is an alternative method:

2) UCanAccess

It is a open source database driver written by Marco Amadei that behaves identical to the JDBC to ODBC bridge, but
- doesn't use ODBC
- handles the getschemanames call, using a default "PUBLIC" schema

Download it here: http://sourceforge.net/projects/ucanaccess

To use it with Quipu:
- Extract the jar files from the \lib folder in the zip file to Quipu's \webapps\qp\WEB-INF\lib folder
- Sort files by name and make sure no duplicates exist, e.g. hsqldb and hsqldb-1.8.0 is not allowed.
- Remove the duplicate with the lowest versionnumber. In the case of hsqldb, which has no versionnumber: keep the one from the UCanAccess zipfile

Manage connection types:

Add a new connection type:
name= ucanaccess
type= jdbc
database or file delimiter=
database or file required= false
jdbc port delimiter= :
jdbc default port=
jdbc driver= net.ucanaccess.jdbc.UcanaccessDriver
url type= jdbc:ucanaccess://

Manage connections:

Add a new connection:
name: ucanaccess
database= test.mdb;showschema=true
hostname= d
port= /

Notes:

- The "showschema=true" property bypasses the getSchemanames error

Uninstall Microsoft Security Essentials

Microsoft Security Essentials can be uninstalled from Windows 7 as follows:

• Download the installer from the Microsoft website (currently: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/security-essentials-download)
• Save the resulting file as "c:\mseinstall.exe"
• Win + R, "cmd", enter, type in "c:\mseinstall.exe mssefullinstall-amd64fre-en-us-vista-win7.exe /U"
• To reinstall, just start mseinstall.exe

Flash 11.4 in SRWare IronPortable v22

To get Flash support in the portable version of Iron v22:

• Start IronPortable and type "about:plugins" in the URL bar
• Scroll to the section titled "Flash"
• If there is one enabled item within that section, then Flash should already work. Test it here: http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/
• If the section does not exist or there are no items in it, then 
• Create a folder called "iron\plugins" in the IronPortable folder
• Download the file NPSWF32_11_4_402_278.dll from the internet or copy it from the system Flash installation folder and put it in the previously created folder.
  Example system Flash installation folder: C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Macromed\Flash\NPSWF32_11_4_402_287.dll
• If there are more items, then 
• Disable all items but one for Flash v11.4
• Restart iron and type "about:plugins"
• If all Flash items are disabled, then enable one Flash item

Note: putting file gcswf32.dll in the root of the IronPortable folder does no longer work!

Stop Outlook from reformatting telephone numbers

A telephone number gets reformatted when adding it to a contact in Outlook, e.g. "+31.." becomes "31".

This behaviour can be stopped as follows:

• Start, Search: "phone" and hit enter. If this doesn't work, then start the Telephony service:
• Start, Search: "services" and hit enter - Double click Telephony (TapiSvr)
• Startup type: automatic
• Click Start
• In the Phone and Modem screen, select a location or, if required, make a new location and use anything for the area code
• Click Edit..
• Country/region: Internation Freephone Service
• (Stop and) start Outlook

Note: it doesn't stop reformatting completely.

E.g. "+31-12345678" still gets reformatted to "+31 12345678", but at least the starting "+" sign remains untouched. And "+31612345678" gets reformatted to "+31612345678 "

Epson AL-C900 with empty color toner

The Epson AL-C900 Aculaser has a default setting that makes it impossible to continue printing if one of the color toners/consumables is empty. Even in black and white.

This can be fixed as follows:

• Connect the printer directly, i.e. via USB to the PC or laptop and turn the printer on
• Install "Status Monitor 3 1.1b" from the Epson website:
  http://esupport.epson-europe.com/FileDetails.aspx?lng=en-GB&id=31761
  The name of the downloaded file is: epson31761eu.exe
  Note:  there is no separate Windows 7 x64 version, so use the Windows Vista x64 version for that platform
• Right-click the "Status monitor 3" icon in the tray and:
• Epson AL-C900 -> Printer Setting...
• Check "Continue printing when consumables are empy"

MS Access DSN-less connection

It is possible to create a DSN less linked table and/or pass-through query from Microsoft Access to SQL Server Express without deleting those objects first, as is often suggested, e.g. here:

http://www.accessmvp.com/djsteele/DSNLessLinks.html

This is safer, because the linked objects will be gone if the code fails after deleting the objects, but before re-adding has completed.

One of the downsides of this approach is that MS Access has to be re-started for the new connections to be effected. In more detail: Access caches ODBC connections. For example, when a working ODBC connection of a linked table is replaced with one that has a wrong username, it will still work, because the previous one is retrieved from cache. It is not possible to clear this cache programmatically or manually, unless Access is restarted. Furthermore, Access only adds new connections to the cache when the driver, server or database property changes. Adding a new and correct ODBC connection to a linked table that only as a different login than the old one has no effect! The old connection from the cache will be used.

Another downside is that the database grows significantly after each execution of the code. A compact/repair resolves this. Set the "compact on close" property on the database.

Use this code to loop over all tables and queries to set the connection string:

Dim db As Database
Dim td As TableDef
Dim qd As QueryDef
Dim strODBC As String

  Set db = DBEngine(0)(0)
  strODBC = "ODBC;DRIVER=SQL Server;SERVER=REMOTESERVER\SQLEXPRESS;DATABASE=TestDB;UID=sa;PWD=sa;Trusted_Connection=No;"

  ' reconnect pass-through queries
  For Each qd In db.QueryDefs
    With qd
      If Left$(.Connect, 4) = "ODBC" Then
        ' note: for a passthrough query the uid and pwd are always stored
        .Connect = strODBC 
        .Close
      End If
    End With
Next qd

  ' reconnect linked tables
  For Each td In db.TableDefs
    With td
      If Left$(.Connect, 4) = "ODBC" Then
        ' note: for a linked table the uid and pwd are only stored when this property is set!
        .Attributes = dbAttachSavePWD
        .Connect = strODBC
        .RefreshLink
      End If
    End With
  Next td

  db.Close
  Set db = Nothing

Notes:

• Use DBEngine(0)(0) in stead of CurrentDB(); the implementation is 1000x faster
• Use Left$ in stead of Left; the implementation is faster
• This particular code assumes that DAO is used, not ADO
• The connection uses a SQL Server Authentication instead of Windows Authentication
• The connection string value is assigned to variable strODBC
• The connection string has to start with the text "ODBC;" both for the linked table as the pass-through query
• If the connection is to a default instance of SQL Server, the string "\SQLEXPRESS" can be removed
• By default, the username and password are stored for a pass-through query, but not for the linked table. This appears to be a bug, it either should be set for both or for neither. Setting the uid/pwd parameters for a linked table does, however, not result in an error
• ... but if the code td.Attributes = dbAttachSavePWD is used, then the uid/pwd are also stored for a linked table. At least for MS Access 2010 on Windows 7 x64, this is enough. In some cases two registry settings need to be set for this to work:
  REGEDIT4
  [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Network]
  "DisablePwdCaching"=dword:00000000
  [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\8.0\Common\Security]
  "DisablePwdCaching"=dword:00000000
• After the code has run, the connection string has been set for all the objects, but is not yet effective! For this, MS Access needs to be closed and reopened
• I found that the reconnecting loop using DRIVER=SQL Server in stead of
  DRIVER={SQL Server}or
  PROVIDER={SQL Server Native Client 10.0 ODBC Driver}
  was much faster
• Close and destroy the reference to the database object to prevent memory leaks

Related errors might include:

"login failed. The login is from untrusted domain and cannot be used with windows authentication"

PALO backend is unavailable

You might get an "backend is unavailable" error when connecting to the PALO server from an internet page.

Check the %SYSTEMDRIVE%\Program Files (x86)\Jedox\Palo Suite\log\core.log file for a probable cause. In my case the fonts folder did not exist:

[2012/05/02 10:22:28] ERROR [core] palo web core server version boost::filesystem::basic_directory_iterator constructor: The system cannot find the path specified: "C:\WINDOWS\Fonts"

The reason for this error is that Windows and the program files folder are installed on my G drive and PALO apparently hardcodedly searches the C drive for these fonts. The service PaloWebCoreServerService cannot start because of this error.

Resolution:

• Create a folder called c:\windows\fonts
• Copy at least the following fonts from the g:\windows\fonts folder:
  andalemo.ttf
  arial.ttf
  arialbd.ttf
  comic.ttf
  courier.ttf
  georgie.ttf
  impact.ttf
  times.ttf
  trebuc.ttf
  verdana.ttf
  webdings.ttf
  If any of these fonts is not available in the folder, then download them from Microsoft:
  http://sourceforge.net/projects/corefonts/files/the%20fonts/final/
  
• Start the service PaloWebCoreServerService

Bamboo Pen & Touch supported driver not found

If you try to start the Wacom Bamboo Preferences application, but get an error message displaying "a supported tablet could not be found", then check if the service "Wacom Consumer Touch Service" is enabled and running.