Specifying data source connections for visual projects

You set up a connection information alias for each data source that will provide data for the visual project (visual report or dashboard).

About this task

When you add the queries that will be used in a visual project, you must specify what connection information alias will be associated with each query.

To change the data source that will be used for a query, you edit the query information and select a connection information alias entry that points to the data source that you want to use. This feature allows users to easily share visual reports and use their own data sources. In addition, it facilitates moving between test and production data sources.

To specify a connection information alias for a data source, perform the following steps:

Procedure

  1. Open the Insert Connection window.
    You can open the Insert Connection window in one of the following ways:
    • From the Project Explorer view, right-click the Connections node for the specific visual project. Select Insert Connection from the pop-up menu.
    • From the Project Explorer view, double-click the Connections node. The Insert Connection window opens.
    • Click a query from the Workspaces or Repository Explorer view. With the mouse button pressed, drag the query to the Queries node in the Project Explorer view. A new data source connection is automatically added to the Connections folder of the Project Explorer view.
  2. From the list of available data sources, select the data source that will be associated with this connection information alias.
  3. Specify a unique name for this connection information alias in the Connection name field.
  4. Click Finish. The Project Explorer view lists the new connection information alias under the Connections node in the tree.
    Note: You can also set up a connection information alias for a data source by dragging the data source from the Workspaces view to the Connections folder for the visual project in the Project Explorer view. The connection information alias is added with the name ConnectionN. You can edit the name of the connection information alias by right-clicking the entry and selecting Rename.

Results

You have set up the data source connection information for the visual data object.