Manage External Connections
Data Access Studio lets you connect to any 32-bit or 64-bit data source. Furthermore, you can use your connection in any report to combine information from that connection with the rest of the data in your report.
To work with your external connections, click the button (External Data Connections) on the main toolbar.
Alternatively, click File > New > External Data.
The External Data Connection page shows all available connections. The default connections view contains connections grouped by the location of the connection (Client or Server). Each connection has a user-defined name, the data source type, the connection information, the Identity (Single or Per User), the Authentication type and the Search Status.
Note
Additional columns, such as bit-ness (32-bit or 64-bit), audit information (date, user, and version) and the updated date can all be viewed by right-clicking on a column header and choosing Hide and Show Columns from the context menu.
Note
Microsoft Excel and Access connections support both 32-bit and 64-bit regardless of the bit-ness used when creating the connection. These connections will work on any Office install (32-bit or 64-bit).
Search Status
DAS users can search for table names of selected External Connections on the home page of DAS. See Create a new Connection for details. For a connection to be searched, a search cache must be generated first. Each user has the option to generate or exclude search caches for client connections. DAS Administrators must be on the DAS Server to generate search caches for server connections. Unless excluded from search, a search cache for a connection will be automatically generated upon the connection being created or edited.
In the Search Status column of the grid, one of these statuses will be displayed: Excluded, Searchable, or Not Generated.
User Actions
To | Do this |
---|---|
Add new connection | Click the ![]() |
Create a report over an existing connection | Highlight the connection and click ![]() |
Copy an existing connection | Highlight the desired connection and click ![]() |
Edit an existing connection | Highlight the desired connection. If the connection is a client-side connection, click ![]() |
Delete a connection | Highlight the desired connection or connections (multi-select with CTRL or SHIFT keys). Click ![]() |
Refresh the connections list | Click the ![]() |
Save customized grid | You can customize the External Data Grid (re-order columns, group by different columns, sort, etc.). To save your customized grid, click the ![]() ![]() |
Update credentials | The ![]() |
Regenerate Search Cache | Select one or more Client or Server connections, then click the ![]() |
Exit this page | Click the ![]() |
Administration
Some operations are restricted to DAS Administrators, such as copying Server connections since this requires updates to the DAS security policy. In addition, creating a Server connection must be done on the DAS server.