ODBC export to Excel fails under Windows 7, Windows 8.x and Windows 10

Question

I just created some code (at the bottom) from scratch that shows a simple Excel export. The code fails with an exception when database.OpenEx is called.

Answer 1

I got exactly the same problem since the Windows update from 12/10/2017

Information below solve the problem on Win7 but problem is not solved on Win10. on Win10, it is ::SQLConfigDataSource(hwndParent, fRequest, sDriver, sAttributes) which generate "Unhandled exception"

SOLUTION for Win7:

I have additional parameters: FIL=Excel 2000,DriverID=790 DRIVER={Microsoft Excel Driver (*.xls)}

It seems to be solved using: FIL=Excel 12.0,DriverID=1046 DRIVER={Microsoft Excel Driver (*.xls, *.xlsx, *.xlsm, *.xlsb)}

This will work if you have a version of Excel compatible with these parameters. You can try versions between Excel 2000 and Excel 12.0, too.

For PC with only Excel 2000 so new parameters do not work at first : To solve the problem I install AccessDatabaseEngine_X64.exe from Microsoft Download; this enabled the use of the Microsoft Excel Driver (*.xls, *.xlsx, *.xlsm, *.xlsb)

Example of parameters:

m_sDsn ="DRIVER={Microsoft Excel Driver (*.xls)};DSN='ODBC_NameXls';FIRSTROWHASNAMES=1;READONLY=TRUE;CREATE_DB="Excelfilename.xls";DBQ=Excelfilename.xls;FIL=Excel 2000;DriverID=790";

m_sDsn ="DRIVER={Microsoft Excel Driver (*.xls, *.xlsx, *.xlsm, *.xlsb)};DSN='ODBC_NameXls';FIRSTROWHASNAMES=1;READONLY=TRUE;CREATE_DB="Excelfilename.xls";DBQ=Excelfilename.xls;FIL=Excel 12.0,DriverID=1046";

m_Database->OpenEx(m_sDsn, CDatabase::openReadOnly | CDatabase::noOdbcDialog);

Answer 2

The problem arises in fact due to a bug in the security updates. Currently I see no other solution than to uninstall, the security patch or using another export format.

Affected patches are:

Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP

KB4041681 -- 2017-10 Security Monthly Quality Rollup for Windows 7 for x86-based Systems KB4041678 -- 2017-10 Security Only Quality Update for Windows Embedded Standard 7 for x64-based Systems

Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2

KB4041693 -- 2017-10 Security Monthly Quality Rollup for Windows 8.1 for x86-based Systems KB4041687 -- 2017-10 Security Only Quality Update for Windows 8.1 for x86-based Systems

Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016 (version 1607)

KB4041691 -- 2017-10 Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1607 and Windows Server 2016

Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016 (version 1703)

KB4041676 -- 2017-10 Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1703

There are multiple threads in other communities (Tectnet, Answers, Social MSDN) discussing the same problem without any workaround except uninstalling the patch.

Edit (2017-11-21): For Windows 10 the bug is fixed with KB4048955!