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Table Of Contents
- Contents
- Chapter 1 - Find the Information You Need
- Part 1 - The User Interface
- Part 2 - Start, Organize, and Save a Drawing
- Part 3 - Control the Drawing Views
- Part 4 - Create and Modify Objects
- Chapter 14 - Control the Properties of Objects
- Chapter 15 - Use Precision Tools
- Chapter 16 - Draw Geometric Objects
- Chapter 17 - Change Existing Objects
- Part 5 - Hatches, Notes, and Dimensions
- Chapter 18 - Hatches, Fills, and Wipeouts
- Chapter 19 - Notes and Labels
- Chapter 20 - Dimensions and Tolerances
- Part 6 - Create Layouts and Plot Drawings
- Chapter 21 - Create Layouts
- Chapter 22 - Plot Drawings
- Part 7 - Share Data Between Drawings and Applications
- Chapter 23 - Reference Other Drawing Files (Xrefs)
- Chapter 24 - Link and Embed Data (OLE)
- Chapter 25 - Work with Data in Other Formats
- Chapter 26 - Access External Databases
- Overview of Using AutoCAD with External Databases
- Access a Database from Within AutoCAD
- Link Database Records to Graphical Objects
- Use Labels to Display Database Information in the Drawing
- Use Queries to Filter Database Information
- Share Link and Label Templates and Queries with Other Users
- Work with Links in Files from Earlier Releases
- Part 8 - Work with Other People and Organizations
- Chapter 27 - Protect and Sign Drawings
- Chapter 28 - Use the Internet to Share Drawings
- Chapter 29 - Insert and View Markups
- Chapter 30 - Publish Drawing Sets
- Part 9 - Create Realistic Images and Graphics
- Glossary
- Index
Access a Database from Within AutoCAD | 729
The AutoCAD database connectivity feature provides the following:
■ An external configuration utility that enables AutoCAD to access the data
contained in a particular database system
■ A dbConnect Manager where you can associate links, labels, and queries
with AutoCAD drawings
■ A Data View window that displays records from a database table within an
AutoCAD session
■ A Query Editor where you can construct, execute, and store SQL queries
■ A migration tool that converts links and displayable attributes to
AutoCAD 2000 or later format from files created in earlier releases
■ A Link Select operation that creates iterative selection sets based on
queries and graphical objects
Access a Database from Within AutoCAD
When you have configured a data source, you can view and edit its records
from within AutoCAD.
Configure a Database for Use with AutoCAD
Drawings
Before you can access an external database from within AutoCAD, you must
configure it using the Microsoft ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) and
OLE DB programs. Using ODBC and OLE DB, AutoCAD can utilize data from
other applications, regardless of the format that it’s stored in or the database
platform that it’s created on. The configuration process involves creating a
new data source that points to a collection of data and provides information
about the drivers necessary to access it.
A data source may be either an individual table or a collection of tables stored
in an environment, catalog, or schema. Environments, catalogs, and schemas
are hierarchical database elements used by most database management sys-
tems that help you organize your data. They are in many ways analogous to
a Windows-based directory structure: you can think of the environment as a
folder that holds additional subdirectories of catalogs. Catalogs in turn contain
additional subdirectories of schemas. Each schema is a collection of tables.
The configuration process varies slightly for different database systems. For
example, server-based databases such as Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server™
require that you enter a valid user name and password and specify the net-
work location where the database is located. File-based systems such as
Microsoft Access and dBASE III do not require this information. Because of