If you want your users to access the data from an external database
management system, you should use Open Database Connectivity (ODBC)
drivers. For example, you can install a Microsoft Access ODBC driver
creating a connection to external Microsoft Access database, and
customize web applications to use this database for storing their data.
Note that an external database does not necessarily need to be remote;
ODBC can be used to access local databases as well.
To install a new ODBC driver, creating a connection to an external
database:
-
Go to the Tools & Settings > ODBC Data Sources.
-
Click Add ODBC DSN.
-
Specify the ODBC connection name and description in the corresponding
fields. -
Select the required driver in the Driver field.
-
Click OK.
-
Choose the appropriate options on the driver configuration screen.
Typically, you should specify the path to the database, user
credentials and other connection options, depending on the selected
driver. -
Click Test to check whether the connection will function properly
with provided settings. Click Finish to complete the creation.
To change settings of an existing ODBC connection:
- Go to Tools & Settings > ODBC Data Sources.
- Click the required connection name in the list.
- Change the settings as needed.
- Click Test to check whether the connection will function properly
with new settings. Click Finish to save changes.
To remove a redundant ODBC connection:
- Go to Tools & Settings > ODBC Data Sources.
- Select a checkbox corresponding to the connection you want to remove.
- Click Remove, confirm the removal and click OK.