I'm using QODBC v8.00.00.237 with QB Enterprise 7.0 installed on a workstation/server used by multiple users, but not concurrently.  We use a proprietary C# application to create, read,and update QB data.

Question 1: Should I be able to point the optimizer to a shared folder so that each user does not end up with a separate copy of the .OPT file?  I've read other posts in the forum and think that should be possible.  I set the optimizer path to that shared folder and rebuilt the .OPT file in that folder.  However, when a user first tries to insert into QB via our appliation, QODBC seems to want to rebuild the .OPT file under the user's personal application data.  I've deleted the optimizer folder from each user's folders, but it continues to be recreated the next time they use the application.  I've also verified that each user has read/write access to the shared folder.

Question 2: Why am I unable to turn the optimizer feature off?  Due to the problem above, I've tried to turn off the optimizer.  I've unchecked the "Use Optimizer" box, and deleted all of the .OPT files.  Yet, the files get recreated the next time users open a connection through QODBC and the optimizer appears to start the rebuild process... the driver status panel pops up and starts counting for what can be hours.  What am I missing? 

The QODBC optimizer is single user only, it can't be shared with other users and can even be corrupted by using mulitple applications at the same time on a desktop during optimizer updates. For this reason, we have designed QODBC to use the user profile to create the .opt file by default in:-

C:\Documents and Settings\loginname\Application Data\QODBC Driver for QuickBooks\Optimizer

The DSN configuration settings store the settings of the optimizer, however this can be overridden by the connection properties in your application.

See: How do I setup the QODBC Optimizer? Where are the Optimizer options? and How do I build a connection string with all the available QODBC parameters?  for more