Configuring the SQL connections

The server must be configured to provide connections to the data source. The connection is determined by the connection string entered in the ODBC Connection Details.

ODBC CONNECTION

This connection string can be an ADO connection string valid on the server. The syntax of the ADO connection string as follows:

DataPA supports five arguments for the Connection String; any other arguments pass directly to the provider without any processing. The arguments DataPA supports are:

Argument	Description
Provider=	Specifies the name of a provider to use for the connection.
File Name=	Specifies the name of a provider-specific file (for example, a persisted data source object) containing preset connection information.
Remote Provider=	Specifies the name of a provider to use when opening a connection to a data source on a machine other than the server being configured. (Remote Data Service only.)
Remote Server=	Specifies the path name of the server to use when opening a connection to a data source on a machine other than the server being configured. (Remote Data Service only.)
URL=	Specifies the connection string as an absolute URL identifying a resource, such as a file or directory.

One of the most common ways to configure access to a data source is to use a System Data Source Name (DSN). The connection string can then simply be a reference to the DSN, i.e. dsn=sports2000.

For more information see How To Create a System Data Source Name (DSN) in Windows 2000

SQL CONNECTION STRING

The Connection String can be build up using a SQL Connection String for a connection that i

Common Arguments are

Argument	Description
DRIVER=	Specifies the name of a driver to be used, the driver must be installed on the machine
SERVER=	Specifies the name of a server to connect to .
DATABASE=	Specifies the name of a database to connect to
USER=	Specifies the name of the user if you are not using Prompt for Password
PASSWORD=	Specifies the password of the user if you are not using Prompt for Password

An example Sting could be:-

DRIVER={MySQL ODBC 5.3 Unicode Driver};SERVER=MyCompanyData;DATABASE=;USER=bob;PASSWORD=password1234