On Windows operating systems, ODBC data sources are typically stored in the system registry. File data sources are an alternative, which are stored as files. In Windows, file data sources typically have the extension .dsn. They consist of sections, each section starting with a name enclosed in square brackets.

To connect using a File Data Source, use the FileDataSourceName (FILEDSN) connection parameter. You can not use both DataSourceName (DSN) and FileDataSourceName (FILEDSN) in the same connection.

File data sources can be distributed

One benefit of file data sources is that you can distribute the file to users. If the file is placed in the default location for file data sources, it is picked up automatically by ODBC. In this way, managing connections for many users can be made simpler.