Unfortunately, MySQL exhibits many serious issues. Unicode is still not fully supported. ODBC drivers are flooded with bugs which are often reintroduced in newer version. So far, the only version of MySQL connector that appears to be working correctly is version 5.3.4 (tested up to 5.3.7).

A possible solution for using MySQL database could be to use MariaDB connector (version 2.0.14 or later) instead of MySQL connector. MariaDB connector supports Unicode and performed well during our tests.

When setting up MySQL ODBC connection in SMS Studio, make sure to strictly follow guidelines from the SMS Studio Help - Tutorial - How to Create an ODBC Data Source topic, in order to correctly set up the options like Safe string mode, Initial Statement, Cursor, etc.

Microsoft Access

Works with SMS Studio without known issues.