Connect Data Source

Contents

Connect a data source to a form

Connecting the forms data source is done by setting F1 Data Source properties in the Visual Studio property dialog.

Data Source Properties

Figure 1: Data source properties set for a form window.

  1. In the designer, select the control for which you want to connect the data source.

  2. In the property dialog, enter values for Logical Unit, View and Package

Note: The property editor for data source properties provides a drop down list from which you can pick a value rather than typing it manually. The dropped down list is resizable and you can also re-launch the connection dialog trough the drop down list. This is done by holding down the shift key while clicking the drop down list.

Connect Visual Studio session to server development environment

Different tools that are plugged in to Visual Studio is communicating with a development server to retrieve meta data. Examples of this is the data source property editor and the data set toolbox. First time any tool or function needs to access the server a connection dialog will be shown. Connecting to the development environment is done in the same way as for running the application.

The connection made will be persisted for the entire Visual Studio session so if nothing else is requested you will only need to connect once per opened development project. It is possible to change server if needed.


Figure 2: Connection dialog launched when an initial connection to a development server is needed.

Note: To verify a given connect string <servername>:<port>: open a web browser and navigate to http://<servername>:<port>. If the connect string is valid a welcome screen will be opened for the environment.