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Using FCAS with databases
FCAS applications can connect to any ODBC-compliant database (ODBC is the industry standard for relational database access). An FCAS form can tie into multiple database tables and multiple databases and the databases can be on different servers. For fields that will always contain data from the same source (the same column in a database table), you can create bound columns database access.
For more flexibility, when you do not have fields that are bound to a particular column, you can create nonbound database access.
Creating ODBC data sources
Before an FCAS application can connect to an ODBC-compliant database, you must use Windows to create an ODBC data source.
To do this:
1 Open ODBC in the Windows Control Panel.
2 Click Add on the ODBC Data Source Administrator's System DSN tab.
3 Select the ODBC driver for your database.
4 Click Finish.
5 Fill in the fields to set up the driver.
For help, use Windows' online help or see the driver manufacturer's documentation.
 Note You need only connect to your ODBC database source once for all applications.
If you want to test the data source, you can connect to it with an ODBC client such as Microsoft Query, Microsoft Access, or Microsoft Excel.
Adding database connections
To add a database connection:
1 Click New on the Connection tab in the FirstClass RAD Project Manager.
2 Fill in the connection information on the New Connection form.
Updating database connections
To update a database connection:
1 Select the connection on the Connection tab in the FirstClass RAD Project Manager.
2 Click Modify.
3 Change information as required on the Connection form.
Removing database connections
When you remove a database connection from a project, all tables associated with it are also removed. You cannot undo this operation.
To remove a database connection:
1 Select the connection on theConnection tab in the FirstClass RAD Project Manager.
2 Click Remove.
Adding database table connections
Before you can add a connection to a table in a database, you must add a connection to the database as a whole.
To add a connection to a table in a database:
1 Click New on the Table tab in the FirstClass RAD Project Manager.
2 Fill in the table information on the New Table form.
Updating database table connections
To update database table connections:
1 Select the table on theTable tab in the FirstClass RAD Project Manager.
2 Click Modify.
3 Change information as required on the Table form.
Removing database table connections
When you remove a database table connection from a project, all associations to that table in the project's forms are also removed. You cannot undo this operation.
To remove a connection to a table in a database:
1 Select the table on theTable tab in the FirstClass RAD Project Manager.
2 Click Remove.
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