This topic is contained in the PDXpert help file: select Contents from the application's Help menu.

Creating an ODBC connection to the PDXpert database

Most ODBC client applications, such as Microsoft Access, will have their own connection procedure or wizard. Look for a "connect to external data" or similar command. This example is for creating a database source name (.dsn) file using Windows 7.

1. Click on the Windows Start menu and select the Control Panel, and then select Administrative Tools. Open the Data Sources (ODBC) tool.

2. On the ODBC Data Source Administrator window, select the File DSN tab, and click the Add... button. The Create New Data Source window opens.

3. From the list of drivers, select the SQL Server Native Client 10.0 driver. Click the Next button.

4. Provide a new file name, such as PDXpertSQLViewer, and ensure that you know where the file will be saved. Click the Next button.

5. After you confirm the summary, click the Finish button. The basic file is saved, and a new panel appears to accept more details.

6. Enter a Description (such as PDXpert SQL viewer data source) and, in the Server location, the fully-qualified server machine name and SQL Server instance name, such as PLMSERVER\PDXPERT. Click the Next button.

7. Indicate that SQL Server should verify the login ID using the With SQL Server authentication option. Apply the appropriate Login ID and Password values, and click the Next button.

   Use the default login name PDXpertViewer and password By2Go4Me8 unless you've created a different account or changed the password. You can manage login accounts using Microsoft's SQL Server Management Studio.

8. Mark the checkbox to set the default database to PDXpertDB and click the Finish button.

   Click the Test Data Source... button to verify your connectivity settings; you should see the message TESTS COMPLETED SUCCESSFULLY!

   If you have errors creating your connection, verify your Microsoft SQL Server configuration, firewall and antivirus settings, and ODBC client application's connection procedure. ODBC clients must account for differences in 32b/64b applications and operating systems. Microsoft offers an extensive help guide here: SQL Server 2008 R2 Native Client (ODBC)

The .dsn file is a simple text file containing the connection information. It can be viewed and edited by Windows Notepad or similar text editor. The following example includes the PWD=By2Go4Me8 argument to simplify login.

Microsoft Data Link file for OLE DB connections

Microsoft is deprecating the SQL Server OLE DB provider. ODBC is recommended for all new development.

OLE DB applications reference connection information that's stored in a Microsoft Data Link .udl file. The Microsoft Data Link file is used to initialize an ADO Connection object. To create a Microsoft Data Link file:

1. Open Windows Explorer and, in a convenient location, create an empty file with the Microsoft Data Link file extension. One easy way is to right-click, create a new Text Document, and rename the file extension to, say, PDXpertSQLViewer.udl

2. Double-click the empty file. This opens the Data Link Properties window.

3. Enter the fully-qualified server machine name and SQL database instance, for example PLMSERVER\PDXPERT

4. Enter the specific User name and Password. If you're using the default account credentials PDXpertViewer and By2Go4Me8, you may choose to mark the Allow saving password checkbox.

5. Select PDXpertDB as the database on the server. Click the OK button after testing your connection.

Your .udl text file contains the OLE DB connection string.

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Help topics describe the most current PDXpert PLM software release, and may differ from earlier releases.