Troubleshooting - How to convert MS Office from 64-bit to 32-bit

Problem Description:

I am on Windows 64-bit and Office 365 64-bit. QODBC Test Tool works fine when I use QuickBooks Data as a connection source.

If I use QRemote, I get the "Evaluation Expired. QRemote requires QODBC license." message.

That connection is not available in Excel, only in QuickBooks Data 64-bit QRemote.

Any help would be appreciated.

Solution:

You are not getting QuickBooks Data DSN in the connection window because you are using the MS Office 64-bit version.

You can identify if your MS Access/MS Excel is 32-bit or 64-bit from:

MS Office 2010:

File -> Help ->

File -> Help ->

Office 2013:

File -> Account -> About Access

File -> Account -> About Excel

Office 2016/365:

File -> Account -> About Access

File -> Account -> About Excel

In the About window. If you see 32-bit, then your MS Office is 32-bit.

If you see 64-bit, then your MS Office is 64-bit.

You can identify the application from the Task Manager window, too.

If the application is 32-bit, you will notice *32 after the EXE name in the process tab. If you can't see *32 after the EXE name, the application is 64-bit.

All versions of QuickBooks from 2002 through 2021 are built on a 32-bit architecture. In contrast, many modern applications—such as Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, and Microsoft SQL Server are commonly deployed in 64-bit environments.

For users running QuickBooks 2021 or earlier, this architectural difference creates a compatibility challenge: 64-bit applications cannot directly communicate with 32-bit drivers. To address this limitation, we provide QRemote.

For the users of QuickBooks 2021 or eariler, since a 64-Bit application cannot talk to a 32-bit driver, we have to do a bit of magic to get the worlds to connect, and we call it QRemote.  QRemote works as a bridge (only for QuickBooks 2021 or lower) between 64-Bit Applications and the 32-Bit QODBC Driver by communicating data calls between the two worlds using TCP/IP protocol. QRemote allows 64-Bit Web Servers and 64-Bit applications to talk to QuickBooks Live for the first time via the QODBC Driver.

For users running QuickBooks 2022 and later, this additional layer is no longer required. These versions of QuickBooks are native 64-bit applications, and the latest release of the QODBC Driver includes a fully compatible 64-bit driver. As a result, 64-bit applications can connect directly to QuickBooks (using the DSN "QuickBooks Data" ) without the need for QRemote.

QRemote Server is designed to enable connectivity and compatibility across different environments and application types. Its primary use cases include:

1. Service-Based Applications
   QRemote Server is used with service-based applications such as IIS,  SQL Server, PHP, Apache, Windows Services, Data Adapters, and other web server environments where direct interaction with QuickBooks may not be feasible.
2. Remote Connectivity
   QRemote Server allows applications running on a remote machine to connect to QuickBooks hosted on another system, enabling distributed setups and centralized QuickBooks access.
3. 32-bit and 64-bit Compatibility Bridge for QuickBooks 2021 and earlier
   QRemote Server enables 64-bit applications to communicate with 32-bit versions of QuickBooks (2021 and earlier) by bridging the architectural gap between modern applications and legacy QuickBooks environments.

QODBC Bundled Edition for QuickBooks Enterprise Edition will not work with remote data sharing using QRemote; that functionality was not part of our contract with Intuit, and those functions are only included in the version of the driver we sell.

QODBC Bundled Edition for QuickBooks Enterprise 2021 and earlier 32-bit editions will not work with 64-bit applications; that functionality was not part of our contract with Intuit, and those functions are only included in the version of the driver we sell.

QODBC Bundled Edition for QuickBooks Enterprise 2022 and eariler 64-bit editions will work with 64-bit applications using the QODBC Driver (DSN = QuickBooks data), not QRemote. In these cases,  QRemote is not required, as the native 64-bit driver enables direct communication between the application and QuickBooks without the need for any intermediary layer.

QODBC Bundled Edition for QuickBooks Enterprise does not include a QRemote License. So, after 30 days, you will not be able to use QRemote.

After 30 days of evaluation, if you try to connect and use QRemote Other than QODBC Licensed, you will notice an "Evaluation Expired. QRemote requires a QODBC license." message.

So, if you want to use QRemote DSN, you must purchase the latest QODBC license.

Please click here to purchase a QODBC license.

OR

If you load the 32-bit version of MS Office on the machine, you won't have any problems using the driver we built for Enterprise Solutions.

To install the 32-bit version of MS Office on the machine. First, you need to uninstall the 64-bit version of MS Office.

Uninstallation of 64-bit MS Office:

To uninstall the 64-bit version of MS Office, search "Control Panel" from the Start Menu & click "Control Panel" from the result.

The Control Panel is opened; click "Programs and Features" to uninstall MS Office 64-bit.

From the program list, search for "Microsoft Office" & click "Uninstall."

MS Office 2010:

Office 2013:

Office 2016/365:

After uninstalling the MS Office 64-bit version, you need to install the 32-bit version of MS Office.

Installation of 32-bit MS Office:

MS Office 2019 / 365:

The 64-bit version is installed by default unless Office detects you already have installed a 32-bit version of Office (or a stand-alone Office app such as Project or Visio). In this case, the 32-bit version of Office will be installed instead.

To change from a 32-bit version to a 64-bit version or vice versa, you need to uninstall Office first (including any stand-alone Office apps you have, such as Project or Visio). Once the uninstall is complete, sign in to www.office.com and select Other install options, choose the language and version you want (64 or 32-bit), and then select Install.

Please refer to the following links.

Use the Office offline installer.

Download and install or reinstall Office 365 or Office 2019 on a PC

Deploy Office 2019 (for IT Pros)

MS Office 2010:

You can install 32-bit MS Office by double-clicking on setup.exe from the MS Office 2010 setup folder.

Please ensure that the MS Office folder does not contain x64 in the folder name. If x64 is in the folder name, it is the 64-bit installer. It would be best if you used the 32-bit installer.

Office 2013:

In MS Office 2013, you need to navigate to the x86 folder & run setup.exe from the MS Office 2013 setup folder.

If you run setup.exe from the main folder, it will install 64-bit MS Office.

Office 2016/365:

In MS Office 2016/365, you need to navigate to the Office folder & run Setup32.exe from the MS Office 2016/365 setup folder.

If you run Setup.exe from the main folder, it will install 64-bit MS Office.