Dreamweaver can connect to a database, in two ways; DSN Connection and DSN-less connection. How to create a DSN-less database connection is explained in this article.
Pre-requisites for this tutorial are the following:
- Adobe Dreamweaver
- MS Access database file (*.mdb)
- IIS (Internet Information Services)
Step1.
Define a root folder in Dreamweaver with testing server configurations enabled. Click here to find out how to define a root folder in Dreamweaver.
Create a new dynamic page of ASP VBScript, type the text “Testing ASP VBScript support” in the body tag of the page and save it in the root directory. Press F12 key and test if this page is displayed properly in the browser.
If the browser can not display this page with the above typed text, there could be some errors while you defined the root folder and its testing server configurations. Please cross check once and ensure you are able to view this page with no errors in browser.
Step2.
Now, go the “Application” panel on the side panel, and choose the “Databases” tab. Click on the + button and a popup menu comes with options “Custom Connection String” and “Data Source Name (DSN)”. Choose the “Custom Connection String” option and the following wizard comes up.
Give a Connection Name in the first field:
Eg: ”dsnLessConn”
Type in the connection String into the second filed:
Eg: “Driver={Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb)};DBQ=D:sample.mdb”
NOTE: The direct path to the database needs to be provided. In this example, the “sample.mdb” file should be in the “D:”.
Choose an option to use the specified driver, it can be either in the server or in the local machine itself.
Click on the “test” button, to see if the connection was successful.
This connection string will be available for editing in the “Connections” directory in the site “ROOT”.
You can also Edit, delete, Duplicate and test this connection by right clicking on the connection icon created under “databases” tab.
If the connection is made successfully, you should be able to see the tables listed in the database connection icon on the “Databases” panel.
In the example mentioned above, the database table “yearlist” can be seen. “yearlist” is the only table available on the “sample.mdb” database file.
Click here to download the sample files.
Learn how Create DSN Connection to a database using Dreamweaver