To create an ODBC data source in Project Reporter, enter the name of an ODBC Data Source Name (DSN) that you have previously configured using the Windows ODBC control panel. The ODBC DSN must be configured on the same computer that is running the Project Reporter server, but can refer to an MPD file or database on another computer on the network. It must be a "System" data source, so that it will be accessible at all times when the computer is running.

ODBC DSNs can only be used when the Project Reporter server is running on a Windows platform. They can be used for Oracle or SQL Server databases containing projects saved from Microsoft Project 98 or Project 2000/2002 (Project Reporter supports the same versions of these database servers that Microsoft Project does).

Note: As of Version 3.0, Project Reporter can load individual .MPD files directly, without requiring you to create an ODBC DSN, as long as each .MPD file contains only one project. However, you can still load individual .MPD files using an ODBC DSN if you wish.

After entering the name of the ODBC DSN, you will be given the option of entering a login name and password for access to the corresponding database. Note: Since this information is not stored in encrypted form by Project Reporter, in some cases you may wish to configure your database server with a new login name and password (with the appropriate read permissions for opening a read-only project in Microsoft Project 98 or Project 2000/2002), that will only be used by Project Reporter to access project information.