Understanding DSNs
A DSN is a single-word identifier for a set of database connection parameters.
The parameters can include the server name, the path to the database or the
database name, the ODBC driver to use, and the user name and password, if any.
For example, suppose you have a Microsoft SQL Server database called Precinct located on a server called Kojak. To gain access to the database, you must enter the user name “columbo” and the password “savalas7”. After using these parameters to define a DSN called ourcops, you can create the connection by entering the single word ourcops in MX instead of all the other parameters.
Click the System DSN tab.
The tab displays the list of DSNs currently on your system.
Click Add to add a new DSN to the list.
The Create New Data Source dialog box appears, listing all the drivers currently
loaded on your system.
Select a driver from the list, then click Finish.
For example, if your database is a Microsoft Access file, select Microsoft Access
Driver (*.mdb). If a driver for your product does not appear in the list, you’ll
have to download the driver from a vendor’s website and install it.
In the dialog box that appears, enter a name for the DSN and specify the connection
parameters.
The dialog boxes for specifying parameters differ depending on the driver you
selected. For the Microsoft Access Driver, you enter a name, click Select, locate
the database file on the hard disk, and click OK.
Click OK to close the dialog box.
The new DSN is added to your list of system DSNs.
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