Those users looking for a replacement for Apple's native program will find ODBC Manager for Mac functional, but less advanced users should look for other, simpler options. While there are no additional features, the program performs its stated functions, which is what a user should expect from a freeware program. Users may also use a dictation feature built into the program. In each screen, experienced users will easily locate buttons for adding, removing, and configuring these options. These include options for user and system DSN, tracing, drivers, and pooling. After starting, the program contains the features expected of a replacement for Apple's own native program from prior OS versions. An available updated version indicates that some technical support is available. ODBC Manager for Mac did not contain any instructions, which would have been a welcome addition since the interface would not be intuitive for the average user. Its small size facilitated quick download and installation, without the acceptance of any lengthy user agreement.
The program is available as freeware with no restrictions or purchase necessary. The following sections explain how to install the Microsoft ODBC driver 17 from the bash shell for different Linux distributions. If you want to download the packages directly, see Download ODBC Driver for SQL Server. ODBC Manager for Mac replaces this application and operates well, albeit with limited utility for all but advanced users. This article provides commands for installing the ODBC driver from the bash shell.
With later versions of Mac OS X, Apple no longer included an application to work with ODBC files.
