Creating a Data Connection

Establishing a connection to an external Data Provider - such as Facebook, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, or an RSS feed - lets models in the current repository interact with the data it provides.

Implementation:

  1. Switch to the Definition tab.
  2. Click .
  3. Switch to the Data Providers panel.
  4. Choose a category from the list provided. The right-hand panel will update to display providers in the selected category.
  5. Select a provider by double-clicking its icon. This will open the New Data Source Connection dialog.
  6. Enter a meaningful New Connection Name.
  7. (Optional) To restrict the connection to an authorised list of administrators, tick the Private Connection check box.
  8. (Optional) If you want the connection to fetch schema information (e.g. dbo.fieldname) in addition to the main data, tick the Include Connection Schema check box.
  9. Switch to the Provider Settings panel.
  10. Use the fields provided to configure the connection string's properties.

The properties of a connection string are dependent on its provider type.

  1. Click the Test Connection button. If the connection fails, check your settings and try again.
  2. After successfully testing the connection, click Save.