>>I'm assuming you are setting up a DSN connection for the ODBC connection?
>yep

Read Kevin's solution.

If you still want to pursue connecting to the database from CR, then the biggest advantage to not using an OBDC connection is not having to set up a DSN. This makes your report more portable.

Plus, what happens when you make a report, leave the company, and the next guy has to deploy it and find out the hard way that it needs a DSN set up? I am talking from experience.... ;-)