Looking for ideas. Power Automate Desktop with a 32 bit Database & 32 bit Office

[mmonline]

I have an inelegant solution. I'm looking for something better.

My client's Sage 50 accounting is 32 bit and the ODBC driver is 32 bit. Therefore, the version of office I need to use is also, 32 bit.

I have Office 365 installed and connected to Sage for specialized reporting and other integrations in MS Access.

However, we are moving data from Sage to a B2B ECommerce Solution using Power Automate Desktop. I create/update products, process orders, manage customers, etc.

Problem: I cannot connect to Access from PAD because the MS Access drivers do not show up in the data link window.

Currently, I've had Access write the data I need to Excel and Power Automate can open up the Excel workbook, read what I need, and write back to it.

I can kick off an Excel Macro that can then write that back to Access. I did a basic test of this...

But holy cow!!! Really???

So, if anyone has an idea or two, that would be awesome!

Note: In some ways, some of the things I need to do are easier to program in VBA than Power Automate but I would prefer a solution that feels like I'm passing parameters via a DOS command line ala 1992 integrations.

Thanks.

[Srini007]

Hi @mmonline 

Did you check below documentation?

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-automate/desktop-flows/how-to/sql-queries-microsoft-access

If you find this reply helpful, please consider giving it a LIKE AND

If this reply answers your question or solves your issue, please ACCEPT AS SOLUTION

Thanks,

Srini

[mmonline]

Yes. But if you install the redistributable (in this case, 2016), it breaks MS Access. I found a number of articles that discussed this but that provided no solution. 

Once installed, Access fails on start up with an error:

"Automatic configuration of the current version of Microsoft Access has failed. Your database might not function correctly."

I followed several steps - registry hacks - and other suggestions to resolve. The only resolution was to uninstall the redistributable. 

Additionally, for those who said they were able to get it running correctly, they also said future updates to Office 365 - particularly to MS Access, broke it. 

It strikes me that even if I am able to find a way to install the redistributable components without breaking MS Access today, that it could blow everything up in the near future.

I need a more stable, long-term and standardized solution.

[ThomasFonn]

Hi @mmonline 

Sorry if this isn't helpful.

In response to the part: "Problem: I cannot connect to Access from PAD because the MS Access drivers do not show up in the data link window."

Would it be possible to just enter a valid connection string without picking it from the list?

Best regards,

Thomas Fonn

[mmonline]

I've tried that.. unsuccessful - but only quickly. I haven't played with it much.

I have so much more flexibility with Javascript that I've even thought of installing node and setting up the jdbc connector... another alternative is using PowerShell. Although, I need to test that PowerShell can use the 32 bit connector. 

It is more surprising that Microsoft would not have a bridge between 32 to 64 bit ODBC.

There is a 32 to 64 bit bridge product but I've been reading it is fickle.

[mmonline · Accepted solution]

The solution, as far as I've been able to determine.

I created an Excel file that is, effectively, a PAD to ODBC (Access and Sage) data later. In it I created a series of Excel Macros that both read and write back to Access (and Sage).

I have a master action and status update sheet that gives both PAD and the Access DB an idea of what data's been process, uploaded to the B2B API, Returned from the API, not yet processed, etc. 

I've added some time and data stamps to this file so we know the last time X or Y has run - whether a PAD flow or a VBA function. I'm creating a sheet as a simple log file as well.

Passing control of certain data elements from PAD to VBA and dealing with recordsets allows me to branch to functions that are a little more fluid than what PAD allows. While I initially was annoyed at adding the additional layer, the reality is, PAD is relegated to API connectivity, while the VBA is far more robust at handling more complex dataflow.

I'll be creating a video next week on how and why I do this.

[ThomasFonn]

Hi @mmonline, thanks for sharing your solution, i'm looking forward to seeing the video 🙂

Best regards,

Thomas Fonn