Specifying PDMS Connection Details
- Last UpdatedNov 14, 2025
- 2 minute read
Before OLE DB clients can use the services of the PDMS Provider, you must use SQL Direct Configuration to set up one or more sets of connection details.
A set of connection details is identified by a connection string identifying the project and MDB it will open for the connection, and a number of environment variable settings needed for PDMS to operate correctly.
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You can input completely new sets of connection details by selecting the Connection>New Connection… menu option.
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You can view or modify an existing set by selecting the Connection>Properties… option.
Either option will invoke the Connection Properties form:
The fields on this form have the following meaning:
|
Field |
Purpose |
|---|---|
|
Connection String |
A unique identifier for this set of connection details. This is the connection string to quote when setting up a PDMS Provider link from a client. |
|
Standard Variables |
These are all mandatory. Set PDMSEXE to point to the install directory for PDMS. Set PDMSWK to a suitable PDMS working directory. Set PDMSUI to where you store PML form definitions and related code Set PMLLIB to where you store the files for general PML application ware. You may use the Browse... button to locate these directories and reduce typing. |
|
Project Details |
These are all mandatory. Project Name is the PDMS project name. MDB is the PDMS MDB that should be opened on connection. Table Schema is the location of the file containing the definition of the tables exported from this PDMS project through PDMS Provider. You create and modify table schema files with the Table Designer program. You may use the Browse... button to locate this file. |
|
Database Variables |
These tell PDMS where the database files are for your project. Note that the labels reflect the name of the project: so if the project is "SAM" the labels are SAM000, SAMMAC, etc. You need to fill in only these: the PIC and ISO fields are for future use and you can leave them blank. More Env Vars gives you the opportunity to define any further environment variable setting required for this PDMS project, for example foreign database locations. The field contains the name of a file holding further environment variable definitions, one per line, in the format: SET <varName>=<value>. You may use the Browse... button to locate these locations. |
When editing with this form, the OK and Apply buttons allow you to save the changes. The OK button additionally dismisses the form; and you can discard changes using the Cancel button.
You can test to see if the connection details are correct using the Test Connection button. This launches a separate program, ADOTest, to test the connection as a Microsoft Active Data Object (ADO) client.