Connection Wizard

The Connection Wizard is a plugin, available from the Environment menu as New Data Connection. This wizard takes you through the steps of connecting to various types of data sources. Once connected, you can enumerate database objects in the Environment sidebar. See the Data Connection Fundamentals topic for more help on data connections.

To use data access features in Spider Writer, Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) version 2.5 or higher must be installed.
MDAC may be downloaded from: http://www.microsoft.com/data/

Microsoft Data Access Components Check

The first step in the Connection Wizard is to verify that MDAC version 2.5 or higher is installed on the computer. If it is not, you cannot create any connections. If you successfully passed the MDAC check, you can bypass this step in the future by unchecking the Show this window... checkbox at the bottom of the window.

Data Source Provider Setup

Enter the name of the connection in the Connection Name textbox. This name will be used as the name of the connection when it is inserted into the Environment sidebar. Then select a data provider for the new connection. When you click on a provider in the Data Provider Type list, a description of its features will be displayed in the textbox to the right.

Connection Driver

If you selected an ODBC database with no DSN, the Connection Driver step will display next. In this step, select an ODBC driver type from the ODBC Driver Type list.

Connection Parameters

The Connection Parameters step contains a propertysheet for entering parameter values for the connection. There are several built-in parameters already in the propertysheet for each type of provider however you can add new parameters by clicking the Add Custom Parameter button.

Connection Test

In the final step of the wizard, the connection string you designed is displayed in the textbox at the top of the window. Before you can start using the new connection, you must test it by pressing the Test Connection button. A messagebox will pop up telling you if the connection was made successfully by using the connection string you designed. Once the connection has been tested successfully, press the Finish button to insert the new data connection into the Environment sidebar.