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The backbone of the database library feature is the database library file. This comes in two forms, depending on whether you are using a standard database library, or a version-controlled database library:
Create a new file of these types by choosing the File New Library command from the main menus and selecting the Database Library or SVN Database Library option from the Database region of the New Library dialog that opens.
Table and mapping data will only appear in an Editor's main display window after the active Database Library/SVN Database Library file is successfully connected to the required external database. Connection is defined using the controls provided in the Source of Connection region.
Any database which provides OLE DB support can be connected to. The options provided in this region each use an OLE DB connection string to connect to the target database. Some databases may not offer OLE DB support. However, virtually all Database Management Systems in use today can be accessed through the Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) interface. The database link feature uses Microsoft's ODBC provider, which allows an ADO (ActiveX Data Object) to connect to any ODBC data source. The result is that any ODBC database can be connected to. The OLE DB provider for the ODBC database is specified as part of the connection string.
Connection can also be defined on the Connection tab of the Database Connection dialog, accessed by choosing the Tools Database Connection command, from the main menus, or by clicking the Advanced button (to the right of the Connect button, at the bottom of the region).
The Select Database Type option offers an expedited method of creating a connection string when the target database has been created using Microsoft Access, or Microsoft Excel. Using this option, select the database type and then browse to and select the required database file. The corresponding connection string will automatically be composed and entered into the field for the Use Connection String option.
If your company database is not Access or Excel-based, and you want to build the connection string explicitly, enable the Use Connection String option and then click the associated Build button to the right. The Data Link Properties dialog will appear.
The dialog opens at the Connection tab. The OLE DB Provider Microsoft Office Access Database Engine OLE DB Provider is set by default on the Provider tab of the dialog. This is the default provider setting for new Database Library/SVN Database Library files and is also used to connect to Access database files (*.mdb). Change the provider as necessary.
If your database requires login permission, enter this as required, along with any other advanced settings available from the Advanced tab of the dialog. The All tab provides a summary listing of link options defined, as well as extended options relating to the chosen OLE DB Provider. Options can be modified as required from this tab.
Once link options have been defined you can check for successful connection by clicking on the Test Connection button (on the Connection tab). A successful connection will yield a confirmation dialog to that effect.
If the data source to which you wish to connect is described using a Microsoft Data Link file (*.udl), enable the third of the connection options - Use Data Link File - and click the associated Browse button to locate the required file. A Data Link File is essentially a storage vessel for a connection string.
After defining the connection to the external database, the text of the Connect button will become bold, signifying that you can proceed with the connection. If the connection details are correct, the table and mapping information for the target database will be loaded into the Database Library/SVN Database Library file. The text on the Connect button will change to Connected and the button will be grayed-out.
If there is a problem with the connection details, for example a connection string is built incorrectly, or a path is entered erroneously, connection will fail and a message will appear alerting you to this fact. Check your connection settings and click the Connect button again.
After successful initial connection, and after saving the Database Library/SVN Database Library file, the connection will be made automatically each time the file is opened, provided the target database's location and filename are not changed.
With a DbLib, the symbol and model libraries are stored on your hard disk, or other local/network medium. Remember that for an SVNDbLib, these libraries are stored under version control in a Subversion repository. As part of the SVNDbLib file, you must define the link to this repository. The connection to the SVN repository is defined on the SVN Repository tab of the Database Library Options dialog (Tools Options). This dialog can also be accessed by clicking the Options button in the Field Settings region of the document view.
The Enable option next to each table entry allows you to control whether or not that table is to be part of the resulting database library. When the database library is added to the list of Available File-based Libraries for browsing in the Components panel, each table will appear as a separate library entity. So although only one database library is added in real terms, from the perspective of the Components panel, it is as though you have added multiple, distinct libraries. For more information, see Searching for Components in File-based & Database Libraries.
As you click on a table entry in the list, its icon changes from to in order to distinguish it as being the currently active table. The table - with all its data - appears on the Table Browser tab of the document. This is an editable view of the table, and allows you to quickly refer to its contents, and edit where required, without having to launch the external database itself.
After a component has been placed from the external database, there needs to be some way of retaining the link between that placed component and the database record whose information was used to create it. In essence, the two need to be matched.
When a component is placed, its parameter information is created on-the-fly, using the corresponding fields in the database record. The post-placement link between the schematic component and the database record is established using one or more of these parameters. The Field Settings region of the document allows you to define the matching criteria - either a simple, single key lookup, or a more advanced match using a Where clause.
If the Single key lookup option is enabled (default) the Database field and Part parameter fields become available. The former lists all of the available field names (column headers) in the active table of the database. As the parameters for a schematic component are added as it is placed, the Part parameter field will reflect whatever database field is chosen.
Typically, the lookup key field used is something that uniquely identifies each component in the external database, such as a Part Number. The chosen lookup field is distinguished on the Field Mappings tab of the document by the Design Parameter entry shown as grayed-out.
When using the Update Parameters From Database feature at some stage after placement, information is read from the chosen key parameter in the placed schematic components and then searched for in the chosen (key) field of the database - across all enabled tables. When there is a match, information from other cells in that record of the parent table can then be taken back to the mapped parameters in the schematic component.
While the Single key lookup option works well if there is a unique part number/id to match on, it is not so effective when matching by a parameter that is not unique, such as capacitance or resistance. In this case the more advanced Where clause should be used, enabling you to specify multiple key matching in order to link the schematic component to its source database record.
In its simplest form the Where clause (written using SQL syntax) reflects the chosen entries that define the single key lookup. For example if the Database field was chosen to be Part Number - the default - the Part parameter field would automatically be set to Part Number also, and the entry for the Where clause would be :
The square brackets around the database field (table column) are quote characters, as specified on the Advanced tab of the Database Connection dialog. Access this dialog either by clicking on the Advanced button in the Source of Connection region of the document, or from the main Tools menu.
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