Introduction
Connecting an input table to multiple types of data sources can be done by using connection strings. Uploading a file automatically creates a connection string table.
Viewing the connection string
Follow these steps to view the connection string.
| Step | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Go to the Data tab of your developer environment. |
| 2 | Double click on the table for which you want to view the connection string. The Edit Connection String Table dialog is opened showing the connection string. See illustration below. |
This string denotes that a file is loaded, where it is located, and how this file is parsed. This string is automatically generated when using the Upload a file… option.
Below is a description of the parameters of the connection string.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| driver | Defines what type of data connection is created. In this case, {mvfile} is a built-in type that allows loading files from the server’s file system. |
| mv-enable | Enables you to disable a connection string. By default, this setting is set to True. A connection string can be disabled by settings mv-enable to False. If not set, it will default to True. |
| filename | Denotes the relative path to the location of the file. The root of this path is defined by the table scope of this table. The type of file is taken from the extension of the file. Note: instead of a relative path you can use a url, which enables you to load a file from a webserver via HTTPS. Since the {mvfile} driver supports Basic Access Authentication, you can also specify a username and password. |
| hasheader | If True, the values in the first line of the file will be used as the names of the attributes. If False, all lines of the file will be parsed as values of the attributes, and the attributes will be automatically named (A1, A2, …). |
| delim | Contains the character that separates the fields in a line. This can either be the character itself, or the ASCII code of this character. To avoid confusion with characters also used in a connection string itself, the ASCII code (59) is used. |
| quote | Contains the character that encloses fields within the file. Usually, this is not necessary, and none can be used. Note: When fields can contain the delim character, all fields within this column should be quoted using a character that is not used in the data fields. |
| encoding | The encoding of the file defines how characters are parsed. Usually, this is UTF-8. |
Creating a new table using a connection string
Follow these steps to create a new table using a connection string.
| Step | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Right click in the Data tab and select New able -> Connection string.... A connection string table New_table is created in the Data tab. |
| 2 | Double-click on New_table to open the Edit Connection String Table dialog. |
| 3 | Enter the connection string in the Connection String field. |
Updated 4 days ago