ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'pyodbc' when importing pyodbc into py script

Question

I've written a short python script which tries to import the pyodbc extension package so I can access my SQL table.

import pyodbc as pyodbc
cnxn = pyodbc.connect('Driver={SQL Server};'
                      'Server=DESKTOP-UO8KJOP;'
                      'Database=ExamplePFData'
                      'Trusted_Connection=yes;')

I have definitely installed the extension by using: pip install pyodbc. And when I go to install it again, cmd says: Requirement already satisfied: pyodbc in ... and I've found the pyd file in my directories.

I have also tried installing pypyodbc, which didn't work.

The error I get is:

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "C:\Users\Jerry\Documents\Python\SQLembed.py", line 5, in <module>
import pyodbc as pyodbc
ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'pyodbc'

(where line 5 is the 'import pyodbc' line)

I have tried copying the pyodbc.cp37-win_amd64.pyd file into my Python Scripts folder and into the folder where my pip.exe file is.

• Currently python is my Python37 folder.
• pyodbc.cp37-win_amd64.pyd is in Python > Lib > site-packages.

Can anyone help me fix this error please so that I can import pyodbc?

Do all of the python extensions/modules that I install via pip need to be in the same folder/directory as python.exe?

Answer 1

There is a useful step by step guide here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/connect/python/pyodbc/step-1-configure-development-environment-for-pyodbc-python-development?view=sql-server-2017

For reference, the steps in this guide (windows) are (assuming you already have python installed):

1. Install the Microsoft ODBC Driver for SQL Server on Windows, from https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/connect/odbc/windows/system-requirements-installation-and-driver-files?view=sql-server-2017#installing-microsoft-odbc-driver-for-sql-server
2. Open cmd.exe as an administrator
3. Navigate to your python scripts folder containing pip
4. Type: pip install pyodbc