Paul

I'm using the MSDASQL provider. I tried using the IBM provider that came with my IBM software, but I cannot get it to work with the 4 part naming convention, even with 'Level zero only' unchecked. I could only get data by using OPENQUERY, which is fine, but none of the OLAP functions work through ODBC connections to our mainframe. I don't know if there is a permissions issue there, but I need to use them. I found that by using the MS provider, I can use 4 part naming, and have the full power of SQL Server, which is my preference. I am 99% happy with it now, except for those darned packed decimal fields. A friend of mine, who is connecting to the same system with SAS, told me he has the same issue with the packed decimals. I am wondering if there is a configuration option I can set. Anyhow, I totally agree with you, this should not be this difficult. Thank you.