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How to specify the connection information for a database or other JDBC data source

  1. Open or create a report design.
  2. Choose Data Explorer.
  3. If you are using the default application window layout, Data Explorer is on the left, next to Palette. If Data Explorer is not visible, choose Window->Show View->Data Explorer.
    If Data Explorer appears somewhere other than the top left of the screen, drag Data Explorer to the sidebar on the left as shown below.

  4. Right-click Data Sources, then choose New Data Source from the context menu.
  5. New Data Source--Select a Data Source type appears.

  6. Specify the type and name of the data source.
    1. In Data sources, select JDBC Data Source.
    2. In Data Source Name, type a name for the BIRT Report Designer data source.
    3. This name must be unique in the current report design.
    4. Choose Next.
    5. New Data Source--New Data Source appears.

  7. Specify the connection information for the JDBC data source.
    1. In Driver Class, choose a driver class from the drop-down list.
    2. If you do not see the driver class you want to use, you must follow the steps in How to specify an additional JDBC driver to set up the driver to use.
    3. In Database URL, type the database URL using the syntax required by the driver. Typically, BIRT Report Designer displays the required syntax in Database URL. For a Sun JDBC/ODBC bridge, this syntax is:
    4. jdbc:odbc:<data source name> 
      
      Replace <data source name> with the name of your data source. For example, the following URL identifies the sales database.
      jdbc:odbc:sales 
      
    5. In User Name, type the user name to use when connecting to the JDBC data source.
    6. If the JDBC data source does not require a user name, leave this field blank.
    7. In Password, type the password to use when connecting to the JDBC data source.
    8. If the JDBC data source does not require a password for this user name, leave this field blank.
  8. To ensure that the connection information is correct, choose Test Connection.
  9. If Test Connection returns an error, repeat steps 5 and 6 to correct the error and test the connection again. Test Connection is required if it is the first time you've used the driver.
  10. Choose Finish.
  11. BIRT Report Designer tests the connection. If BIRT Report Designer reports a connection error, repeat steps 5 and 6 to correct the error and test the connection again.
    If the connection works, BIRT Report Designer creates a new BIRT Report Designer data source. The new data source appears within Data Sources in Data Explorer.


(c) Copyright Actuate Corporation 2006

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