To define a connection using the ADO.NET interface, you must create a database profile by supplying values for at least the basic connection parameters in the Database Profile Setup – ADO.NET dialog box. You can then select this profile at any time to connect to your data in DataWindow Designer.
For information on how to define a database profile, see “Using database profiles”.
You must supply a value for the Namespace and DataSource connection parameters and for the User ID and Password. When you use the System.Data.OleDb namespace, you must also select a data provider from the list of installed data providers in the Provider drop-down list.
The Data Source value varies depending on the type of data source connection you are making. For example, if you are using Microsoft’s OLE DB Provider for SQL Server, you select SQLOLEDB as the Provider value and enter the actual server name as the Data Source value. In the case of Microsoft SQL Server, you must also use the Extended Properties field to provide the database name (for example, Database=Pubs) since you can have multiple instances of a database.
The Data Link option allows you to access Microsoft’s Data Link API, which allows you to define a file or use an existing file that contains your OLE DB connection information. A Data Link file is identified with the suffix .udl.
To launch this option, select the File Name check box on the Connection page and double-click the button next to the File Name box. (You can also launch the Data Link API in the Database painter by double-clicking the Manage Data Links utility included with the OLE DB interface in the list of Installed Database Interfaces.)
For more information on using the Data Link API, see Microsoft’s Universal Data Access Web site.
