Sharing database profiles
When you work in PowerBuilder, you can share database profiles
among users.
Sharing database profiles between Sybase tools Since the database profiles used by PowerBuilder, InfoMaker,
and DataWindow Designer are stored in a common registry location,
database profiles you create in any of these tools are automatically
available for use by the others, if the tools are running on the
same computer.
This section describes what you need to know to set up, use,
and maintain shared database profiles in PowerBuilder.
About shared database profiles
What you can do
You can share database profiles in the PowerBuilder development
environment by specifying the location of a file containing the
profiles you want to share. You specify this location in the Database
Preferences property sheet in the Database painter.
Where to store a shared profile file
To share database profiles among all PowerBuilder users at your
site, store a profile file on a network file server accessible to
all users.
What happens
When you share database profiles, PowerBuilder displays shared
database profiles from the file you specify as well as those from
your registry.
Shared database profiles are read-only. You can select a shared
profile to connect to a database–but you cannot edit,
save, or delete profiles that are shared. (You can, however, make
changes to a shared profile and save it on your computer, as described
in “Making local changes to
shared database profiles”.)
How to do it
To set up shared database profiles in PowerBuilder, you specify
the location of the file containing shared profiles in the Database
painter’s Database Preferences property sheet.
For instructions, see “Setting up shared database
profiles”.
Setting up shared database profiles
What you do
You set up shared database profiles in the Database Preferences
property sheet.
To set up shared database profiles:
-
In the Database painter, select Design>Options
from the menu bar.The Database Preferences property sheet displays. If necessary,
click the General tab to display the General property page. -
In the Shared Database Profiles box, specify the
location of the file containing the database profiles you want to
share. Do this in either of the following ways:- Type the location (path name)
in the Shared Database Profiles box. - Click the Browse button to navigate to the file
location and display it in the Shared Database Profiles box.
In the following example, c:workshare.ini is
the location of the file containing the database profiles to be
shared:
- Type the location (path name)
-
Do one of the following:
- Click
Apply to apply the Shared Database Profiles setting to the current
connection and all future connections without closing the Database
Preferences property sheet. - Click OK to apply the Shared Database Profiles setting
to the current connection and all future connections and close the
Database Preferences property sheet.
PowerBuilder saves your Shared Database Profiles setting in
the registry. - Click
Using shared database profiles to connect
You select a shared database profile to connect to a database
the same way you select a profile stored in your registry. You can
select the shared profile in the Database Profiles dialog box or
from the File>Connect menu.
Database Profiles dialog box
You can select and connect to a shared database profile in
the Database Profiles dialog box.
To select a shared database profile in the Database
Profiles dialog box:
-
Click the Database Profile button in the
PowerBaror
Select Tools>Database Profile from the PowerBar.
The Database Profiles dialog box displays, listing both shared
and local profiles. Shared profiles are denoted by a network icon
and the word (Shared).
-
Select the name of the shared profile you want
to access and click Connect.PowerBuilder connects to the selected database and returns you
to the painter workspace.
Making local changes to shared database profiles
Because shared database profiles can be accessed by multiple
users running PowerBuilder, you should not make changes to these profiles.
However, if you want to modify and save a copy of a shared database
profile for your own use, you can edit the
profile and save the modified copy in your computer’s registry.
To save changes to a shared database profile in
your registry:
-
In the Database Profiles dialog box, select
the shared profile you want to edit and click the Edit button. -
In the Database Profile Setup dialog box that
displays, edit the profile values as needed and click OK.A message box displays, asking if you want to save a copy
of the modified profile to your computer. -
Click Yes.
PowerBuilder saves the modified profile in your computer’s
registry.
Maintaining shared database profiles
If you maintain the database profiles for PowerBuilder at your
site, you might need to update shared database profiles from time
to time and make these changes available to your users.
Because shared database profiles can be accessed by multiple
users running PowerBuilder, it is not a good
idea to make changes to the profiles over a network. Instead, you
should make any changes locally and then provide the updated profiles
to your users.
To maintain shared database profiles at your site:
-
Make and save required changes to the shared
profiles on your own computer. These changes are saved in your registry.For instructions, see “Making local changes to
shared database profiles”. -
Export the updated profile entries from your registry
to the existing file containing shared profiles.For instructions, see “Importing and exporting
database profiles”. -
If they have not already done so, have users specify
the location of the new profiles file in the Database Preferences
property sheet so that they can access the updated shared profiles
on their computer.For instructions, see “Setting up shared database
profiles”.