topic ERROR: The ACCESS engine cannot be found. in SAS Enterprise Guide

ERROR: The ACCESS engine cannot be found.

PuneetS — Mon, 11 Apr 2016 12:07:12 GMT

Hello All,

I am gettign Error message when trying to assign a ACCESS library.

libname MS_Acc ACCESS "/data/normal/test.accdb";

ERROR: The ACCESS engine cannot be found.
ERROR: Error in the LIBNAME statement.

SAS is installed on unix server and we have access interface to PC files on it.

---SAS/ACCESS Interface to PC Files

For SAS/ACCESS Interface to PC Files ...
Custom version information: 9.3_M2

any help would be much appreciate.

Re: ERROR: The ACCESS engine cannot be found.

ChrisHemedinger — Mon, 11 Apr 2016 12:40:43 GMT

On UNIX, you would need to use the PCFILES engine in cooperation with the PC Files Server -- a small service that you have running on a Windows PC that can read/write the MS Access files for you. On UNIX, SAS cannot read/write the MS Access file natively.

Re: ERROR: The ACCESS engine cannot be found.

Kurt_Bremser — Mon, 11 Apr 2016 12:42:23 GMT

The ACCESS libname engine is only available on Windows.

To get access to accdb files, install the PC Files Server where the MS Access files are located, and connect to that.

Re: ERROR: The ACCESS engine cannot be found.

PuneetS — Thu, 14 Apr 2016 09:56:56 GMT

Thanks for the reply.

That makes it clear that I cannot use ACCESS engine for the unix machine.

But I am struggling to assign libname to MS Access database placed on my unix server.

This MS Access file is placed on the same server on which SAS is installed.

I tried:

LIBNAME db PCFILES PATH='/data/test/my_acc.accdb'

ERROR: The SERVER= option is required for establishing a connection through the SAS/ACCESS Interface to PC Files.
ERROR: Error in the LIBNAME statement.
17 RUN;

LIBNAME myacc PCFILES SERVER="<unix server name>" PATH='/data/test/demo.accdb';
ERROR: A socket routine returned error: The connection was refused.
ERROR: Unable to connect to server.
ERROR: Error in the LIBNAME statement.

LIBNAME db PCFILES PATH='/data/test/myfile.accdb'
16 SERVER=localhost ;
ERROR: A socket routine returned error: The connection was refused.
ERROR: Unable to connect to server.
ERROR: Error in the LIBNAME statement.
17 RUN;

can someone please help. Thanks

Re: ERROR: The ACCESS engine cannot be found.

Kurt_Bremser — Thu, 14 Apr 2016 10:16:38 GMT

The PC Files Server is a piece on Windows software supplied by SAS. It must run on a Windows machine that has access to the MS Office files that need serving.

Re: ERROR: The ACCESS engine cannot be found.

PuneetS — Thu, 14 Apr 2016 11:23:44 GMT

But my MS Access is located on the Unix server and SAS in installed on the same Unix server.

Is there a way in which I can assign libname to the MS Access file located on Unix server?

Re: ERROR: The ACCESS engine cannot be found.

Kurt_Bremser — Thu, 14 Apr 2016 11:44:40 GMT

You need a WINDOWS program to get access to accdb files.

Either SAS runs on Windows and uses the MS DAO to access the DB.

Or SAS runs on UNIX, but Enterprise Guide on Windows uses the MS DAO.

Or you run the PC Files Server (which probably also uses the MS DAO) on Windows and access that via network from SAS on UNIX.

Simply placing the accdb file on UNIX does.not.work.

DAO = Data Access Objects