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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-05-14T15:54:24+00:00

We have an application that stores its database files in a subfolder of the

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We have an application that stores its database files in a subfolder of the Program Files directory. These files are redirected to the VirtualStore in Vista and Windows 7. We represent data from the database using Microsoft DataReports (VB6). So far so good.

But we now want to use Crystal Reports XI to represent data from the database. Our idea is to NOT pass this data to CR from our program, but to have CR retreive it from the database using a a system DSN through ODBC. In this way we hope to present our users with more flexibility in designing their own reports. What we do want to ensure though is that these system DSNs are configured correctly when the user installs our program or when the program calls the Crystal Report.

Is there a smart way to do this using System variables for instance, instead of having to write a routine that checks for OS-version, whether UAC is enabled on the OS, whether the write restrictions on the Program Files folder have been lifted, etc and then adapts he System DSN to point to either the C:\Program Files\OurApp\Data folder, or the C:\Users\User\AppData\VirtualStore\Program Files\OurApp\Data folder?

Suggestions for an entirely different approach are welcome too!

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    Is this an Access database? You haven’t specified.

    For an Access database, you don’t need to point your DSN to a specific database when you install it. You can modify the connection string to point to different databases at runtime (details). For instance 

    Driver={Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb)};Dbq=C:\mydatabase.mdb;Uid=Admin;Pwd=;

    Can you simply read the installation path at runtime (in VB6 it is App.Path) and then send a different connection string to Crystal Reports?

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