Bridging Data<\/a>, <\/strong>is\u00a0the second<\/strong> blog in this series. It guides you through the experience of creating OLE DB connections to a personal geodatabase (.mdb), a Microsoft Access database (.accdb)<\/a>, and a MySQL database<\/a> in ArcGIS Pro. Once an OLE DB connection has been created, many options are\u00a0available to use and work with this tabular data in ArcGIS Pro<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Migrating Data<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is the\u00a0third<\/strong>\u00a0blog in this series. It provides a look at the differences between\u00a0file-based geodatabase types, characteristics, and capabilities.\u00a0 Additionally,\u00a0<\/a>two new sample tools<\/a>\u00a0are introduced and available to help with\u00a0migrating a personal geodatabase to a file\u00a0<\/a>geodatabase and, if needed,\u00a0migrating a file geodatabase to a mobile geodatabase<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n It\u2019s Not Personal<\/strong>,<\/a> is the first<\/strong> blog in this series, and explains why personal geodatabases aren\u2019t supported in ArcGIS Pro.<\/em><\/p>\n To learn more about Bridging Data<\/strong>, keep reading…<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","image_reference":false,"layout":"standard","image_reference_figure":"","snippet":"","spotlight_name":"","section_title":"","position":"Center","spotlight_image":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" Recently, while packing for an upcoming 5-day family trip to Pittsburgh, PA, (a.k.a, the steel city) to trace back some of my in-law’s family roots, I realized that I had been to (or through) Pittsburgh only once before.\u00a0 My only recollection of Pittsburgh occurred more than 30 years ago and lasted all of about 2 minutes as I passed through this city at 65 mph in a bus on my way to a summer youth camp from Florida.\u00a0 So, the anticipation of our family spending almost a week in what I expected would be more of an industrious smog-laden city seemed a bit (and I dare say<\/em>), dreadful, and secretly wished we were heading to the beach<\/em>.<\/p>\n Fast forward a week and as our trip to this city quickly drew to a close, I’ll admit (ehem\u2026listen up as I don\u2019t say this often),<\/em> I was wrong!\u00a0 I found Pittsburgh to be a beautiful city and have a whole new appreciation for this city of steel that launched America’s industrial revolution. What pleasantly <\/span>surprised me the most during our family trip was discovering the dynamic landscape of all its steep hillsides, boroughs, valleys, and rivers that traverse this city.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As a result of its dynamic landscape, and its location at the convergent point of three large rivers (Monongahela, Allegheny, and Ohio), I discovered that Pittsburgh is surrounded by water and has bridges everywhere!\u00a0 In fact, Pittsburgh is known as the city of bridges\u2014446 bridges, to be exact, call this city home.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":1933292,"id":1933292,"title":"AdobeStock_273181605_Pittsburgh_Small","filename":"AdobeStock_273181605_Pittsburgh_Small.png","filesize":6475945,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/05\/AdobeStock_273181605_Pittsburgh_Small.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-pro\/data-management\/bridging-data-create-and-use-ole-db-connections-in-arcgis-pro\/adobestock_273181605_pittsburgh_small","alt":"Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania skyline","author":"12901","description":"Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania skyline","caption":"Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania skyline (\u00a9 David - stock.adobe.com)","name":"adobestock_273181605_pittsburgh_small","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":1893102,"date":"2023-05-15 21:25:52","modified":"2023-05-15 21:27:13","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":2130,"height":1418,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/05\/AdobeStock_273181605_Pittsburgh_Small-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/05\/AdobeStock_273181605_Pittsburgh_Small.png","medium-width":392,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/05\/AdobeStock_273181605_Pittsburgh_Small.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":511,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/05\/AdobeStock_273181605_Pittsburgh_Small.png","large-width":1622,"large-height":1080,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/05\/AdobeStock_273181605_Pittsburgh_Small-1536x1023.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1023,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/05\/AdobeStock_273181605_Pittsburgh_Small-2048x1363.png","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1363,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/05\/AdobeStock_273181605_Pittsburgh_Small-698x465.png","card_image-width":698,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/05\/AdobeStock_273181605_Pittsburgh_Small-1622x1080.png","wide_image-width":1622,"wide_image-height":1080}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/05\/AdobeStock_273181605_Pittsburgh_Small.png"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" Pittsburgh has bridges for cars, people, and trains.\u00a0 New bridges, old bridges, decorative bridges, plain bridges, high bridges, low bridges, narrow bridges, and wide bridges, are all equally vital connections not only for local residents of Pittsburgh but also for our nation’s communities and economies.<\/p>\n Similar to the vital connections bridges provide, the ability to connect to and access data is just as vital within GIS!<\/p>\n Just like the diverse types and purposes of bridges, and methods to access and use them, there are also different types and purposes of data, and various methods for us to connect and use this data.<\/p>\n Data connections allow us to view, add, update, or remove data.<\/p>\n In the first blog of this series, It\u2019s Not Personal<\/a>, I explained why personal geodatabases are not supported in ArcGIS Pro.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" While personal geodatabases are not supported within ArcGIS Pro, meaning you can’t create, update, or delete data from ArcGIS Pro, you can still connect to personal geodatabases (.mdb) and other data sources such as Microsoft Access databases (.accdb).<\/p>\n If you are currently using one or more personal geodatabases in ArcMap, here are some options for using the data in ArcGIS Pro depending on your workflows:<\/p>\n ——> Continue reading below for more details and options using OLE DB connections<\/a>.<\/p>\n ——> This workflow, will be addressed in the third blog of this series and will provide access to a set of data migration tools!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" In ArcGIS Pro, you can establish an Object Linking and Embedding Database (OLE DB) connection (read-only) to access tabular data sources from any database that supports OLE DB, and for which you have the driver. This type of connection is most commonly used to connect ArcGIS Pro<\/span>\u00a0to data sources that support OLE DB but cannot be accessed from the list of\u00a0supported database platforms<\/a>\u00a0on the\u00a0Database Connection<\/span>\u00a0dialog box.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Object Linking and Embedding Database (OLE DB) is a Microsoft Windows connectivity method that uses the same core application programming interface (API) to help bridge communication between client applications and a variety of data sources. This bridge consists of an OLE DB provider (a set of\u00a0.dll\u00a0files) that uses the services of an ODBC driver to connect and interact with both relational and nonrelational databases in a uniform manner.<\/p>\n An OLE DB provider is similar to a language translator that helps bridge communications between two people speaking different languages. For a client application and a data source to successfully communicate with each other, the specific OLE DB provider for the data source you want to connect to must be installed on the same client machine where ArcGIS Pro is installed and will be used to create the OLE DB connection. Installing the appropriate OLE DB provider equips the client application with the correct language needed to communicate with its associated data source.<\/p>\n There are specific providers for each type of data source supported by OLE DB. To make an OLE DB connection from a 64-bit ArcGIS client such as\u00a0ArcGIS Pro, install the appropriate 64-bit drivers on your\u00a0ArcGIS Pro\u00a0machine to connect to these data sources using OLE DB.<\/p>\n Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) is a connectivity method supported on Windows, Linux, Mac, and UNIX.\u00a0 \u00a0The Microsoft\u00ae ODBC Data Source Administrator application manages database drivers and data sources and is located in the Windows Control Panel under Administrative Tools<\/strong>.<\/p>\n An ODBC driver is the component that processes ODBC requests and returns data to the application. If necessary, drivers modify an application’s request into a form that is understood by the data source. You must use the driver’s setup program to add or delete a driver from your computer.<\/p>\n A data source is the database or file accessed by an ODBC driver and is identified by a data source name (DSN).<\/p>\n A data source name (DSN) is a unique name that you can create to associate a particular ODBC driver with the data source you want to access. You can use the Microsoft\u00ae ODBC Data Source Administrator to add, update, and delete DSNs. A DSN also stores the connection details to the data source, like its database name, directory, database driver, UserID, password, and so on.<\/p>\n Once a DSN has been created, you can use ArcGIS Pro to create an OLE DB connection using the Data Link Properties<\/strong> dialog box, where you can specify your newly created unique DSN to request a connection to an ODBC data source.<\/p>\n Fantastic!\u00a0<\/strong> Now that you’re all caught up on OLE DB terminology, let’s move on…<\/em><\/p>\n<\/details>\n <\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" For the remainder of this blog, I’m going to help guide you through these steps as we explore how to set up and use OLE DB connections in ArcGIS Pro as a bridge for establishing a read-only connection to a variety of data sources listed below.\u00a0 Plus, we’ll learn how to use this data once an OLE DB connection has been established.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" The Microsoft Access Database Engine technology helps bridge communication and data transfers between files that are proprietary to the Microsoft Office system and other non-Microsoft Office applications such as ArcGIS Pro.<\/p>\n When using the ArcGIS Pro (64-bit) client application to create an OLE DB connection to a personal geodatabase (.mdb) or a Microsoft Access database (.accdb), you must have the 64-bit version of Microsoft Access Database Engine Redistributable driver installed.\u00a0 If this driver is installed properly, it will appear under the Providers<\/strong> tab\u00a0in the Data Link Properties<\/strong> dialog box.<\/p>\n Note:<\/strong> Without using OLE DB, ArcGIS Pro cannot directly access or read the Microsoft Access format.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n A personal geodatabase is an ArcGIS-specified GIS database that is stored in a Microsoft Access (.mdb) format. A personal geodatabase can store, query, and manage both spatial and non-spatial data. Because they are stored in Access databases, personal geodatabases have a maximum size of 2 GB.<\/p>\n A Microsoft Access database is the default database format developed by Microsoft and is used when saving or creating a Microsoft Access database (.accdb).<\/p>\nThe adventure begins…<\/strong><\/h4>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":1920942,"id":1920942,"title":"AdobeStock_363408143_WalkingBridge_FrickPark","filename":"AdobeStock_363408143_WalkingBridge_FrickPark.jpg","filesize":1214406,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/07\/AdobeStock_363408143_WalkingBridge_FrickPark.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-pro\/data-management\/bridging-data-create-and-use-ole-db-connections-in-arcgis-pro\/adobestock_363408143_walkingbridge_frickpark","alt":"A wooden walking bridge in Frick Park on a sunny summer day, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,","author":"12901","description":"A wooden walking bridge in Frick Park on a sunny summer day, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. ","caption":"A wooden walking bridge in Frick Park on a sunny summer day, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (\u00a9 woodsnorth - stock.adobe.com).","name":"adobestock_363408143_walkingbridge_frickpark","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":1893102,"date":"2023-04-28 21:50:35","modified":"2023-04-28 21:53:11","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1920,"height":1080,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/07\/AdobeStock_363408143_WalkingBridge_FrickPark-213x200.jpg","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/07\/AdobeStock_363408143_WalkingBridge_FrickPark.jpg","medium-width":464,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/07\/AdobeStock_363408143_WalkingBridge_FrickPark.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/07\/AdobeStock_363408143_WalkingBridge_FrickPark.jpg","large-width":1920,"large-height":1080,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/07\/AdobeStock_363408143_WalkingBridge_FrickPark-1536x864.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":864,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/07\/AdobeStock_363408143_WalkingBridge_FrickPark.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1080,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/07\/AdobeStock_363408143_WalkingBridge_FrickPark-826x465.jpg","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/07\/AdobeStock_363408143_WalkingBridge_FrickPark-1920x1080.jpg","wide_image-width":1920,"wide_image-height":1080}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/07\/AdobeStock_363408143_WalkingBridge_FrickPark.jpg"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"
Data Connections<\/strong><\/h2>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":1935332,"id":1935332,"title":"Pittsburgh_Bridge_Structure_AdobeStock_575805344","filename":"Pittsburgh_Bridge_Structure_AdobeStock_575805344.jpg","filesize":708771,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Pittsburgh_Bridge_Structure_AdobeStock_575805344.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-pro\/data-management\/bridging-data-create-and-use-ole-db-connections-in-arcgis-pro\/pittsburgh_bridge_structure_adobestock_575805344-2","alt":"Underside of Pittsburgh bridge structure","author":"12901","description":"Underside of Pittsburgh bridge structure","caption":"Underside of Pittsburgh bridge structure (\u00a9Andrew - stock.adobe.com)","name":"pittsburgh_bridge_structure_adobestock_575805344-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":1893102,"date":"2023-05-16 22:03:03","modified":"2023-05-16 22:09:11","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1920,"height":1080,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Pittsburgh_Bridge_Structure_AdobeStock_575805344-213x200.jpg","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Pittsburgh_Bridge_Structure_AdobeStock_575805344.jpg","medium-width":464,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Pittsburgh_Bridge_Structure_AdobeStock_575805344.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Pittsburgh_Bridge_Structure_AdobeStock_575805344.jpg","large-width":1920,"large-height":1080,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Pittsburgh_Bridge_Structure_AdobeStock_575805344-1536x864.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":864,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Pittsburgh_Bridge_Structure_AdobeStock_575805344.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1080,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Pittsburgh_Bridge_Structure_AdobeStock_575805344-826x465.jpg","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Pittsburgh_Bridge_Structure_AdobeStock_575805344-1920x1080.jpg","wide_image-width":1920,"wide_image-height":1080}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Pittsburgh_Bridge_Structure_AdobeStock_575805344.jpg"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"
But wait!<\/b><\/h2>\n
If personal geodatabases (.mdb) are not supported in ArcGIS Pro, how will we be able to connect to and use our data in a personal geodatabase from ArcGIS Pro?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
OLE DB connections <\/b><\/h2>\n
Click this link to learn more about OLE DB connection terminology<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/summary>\n
OLE DB terminology<\/strong><\/h2>\n
OLE DB providers<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Open Database Connectivity<\/strong><\/h3>\n
ODBC drivers<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Data sources<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Data source name <\/strong><\/h3>\n
<\/h2>\n
Choose your<\/strong>
workflow<\/span><\/del> adventure!<\/strong><\/h2>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":1936432,"id":1936432,"title":"AdobeStock_112462621_tigbao_hanging_bridge","filename":"AdobeStock_112462621_tigbao_hanging_bridge.png","filesize":9877283,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/05\/AdobeStock_112462621_tigbao_hanging_bridge.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-pro\/data-management\/bridging-data-create-and-use-ole-db-connections-in-arcgis-pro\/adobestock_112462621_tigbao_hanging_bridge","alt":"Tigbao swinging bridge in Bohol, Philippines","author":"12901","description":"Tigbao swinging bridge in Bohol, Philippines","caption":"Tigbao swinging bridge in Bohol, Philippines (\u00a912ee12 - stock.adobe.com)","name":"adobestock_112462621_tigbao_hanging_bridge","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":1893102,"date":"2023-05-17 19:38:13","modified":"2023-05-17 19:41:21","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":2550,"height":1700,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/05\/AdobeStock_112462621_tigbao_hanging_bridge-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/05\/AdobeStock_112462621_tigbao_hanging_bridge.png","medium-width":392,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/05\/AdobeStock_112462621_tigbao_hanging_bridge.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/05\/AdobeStock_112462621_tigbao_hanging_bridge.png","large-width":1620,"large-height":1080,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/05\/AdobeStock_112462621_tigbao_hanging_bridge-1536x1024.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/05\/AdobeStock_112462621_tigbao_hanging_bridge-2048x1365.png","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1365,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/05\/AdobeStock_112462621_tigbao_hanging_bridge-698x465.png","card_image-width":698,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/05\/AdobeStock_112462621_tigbao_hanging_bridge-1620x1080.png","wide_image-width":1620,"wide_image-height":1080}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/05\/AdobeStock_112462621_tigbao_hanging_bridge.png"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Let’s explore how to…<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
\n
Create an OLE DB connection to a\u00a0<\/strong>personal geodatabase (.mdb) and a\u00a0<\/strong>Microsoft Access database (.accdb) using an OLE DB provider<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Click this link to learn more about Microsoft Access database (.accdb) and a personal geodatabase (.mdb)<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/summary>\n
Microsoft Access database (.accdb) and a personal geodatabase (.mdb) Overview<\/strong><\/h2>\n