Create MySQL Connections
You can create a new connection, or connect to an existing connection from the Create New Connection window. See Troubleshoot MySQL Issues for more information about troubleshooting connection issues.
Note: This topic focuses on information that may be unfamiliar to you. It does not include all step and field descriptions.
To create a MySQL connection
-
Click
on the toolbar (ALT+F+N).
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Select MySQL from the Group list box.
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Review the following for additional information:
Login Tab Description Connection type
Select the protocol to use when connecting.
Host
Enter the name of the host computer where the database is installed.
Password
Enter the password to use when connecting.
Tip: After connecting, you can set a master password to further secure your connection in Tools | Options| Environment | Security.
Connection timeout
Enter the number of seconds to wait when connecting before the application times out. The default is 15 seconds.
SSL
If you selected SSL as the connection type, review the following for additional information:
- Private key—browse to the location of the SSL key file to use when connecting.
- CA cert—browse to the location of the trusted certificate authority to use when connecting.
- Cert—browse to the location of the SSL certificate file to use when connecting.
Compress
Select this checkbox to compress the value of any strings and return binary values.
Use MySQL libraries
Select this checkbox to use an embedded MySQL library instead of the MySQL .NET provider.
Note: If you select this option, you must specify libMySQL.dll in the path.
Category
Select or create a category if you want to color code Editor tabs for a specific connection. This can help differentiate between development and production databases. You can also set an option to color code the Object Explorer pane and object editor windows (Create, Alter, Drop, etc.). Click here to view a video of this feature.
Advanced Tab Description ODBC driver
Select an ODBC driver to use when executing cross-connection queries using this connection.
Tip: You can specify the ODBC driver to use for all connections for this database provider in Tools | Options | Database | MySQL.
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Click Connect to save the connection and immediately connect to the database.
or
Click Save to save the connection without connecting to the database.
Tip: Connections are stored in the connections.xml file and can be found by clicking the Application Data Directory link in Help | About.
Create ODBC Connections
Toad Data Point allows you to create a connection to a database that supports an ODBC 3.0 or later driver. ODBC connectivity provides basic querying capability, but may not be as full-featured as a native connection in Toad. For a list of databases tested with the ODBC provider, see the Release Notes.
This form of connectivity allows connections to databases such as Netezza, IBM iSeries, Ingres, and Vertica.
To create an ODBC connection
- Click
- Select ODBC Generic from the Group list box.
- Click
in the Data Source Name field.
- Click Add.
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Select an ODBC driver from the list, and click Finish.
Note: If creating an Oracle ODBC connection, select the ODBC driver provided by Oracle. The Microsoft ODBC for Oracle driver has less functionality than the driver provided by Oracle.
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Specify the configuration properties required for the database in the windows configuration dialog.
Notes:
- If you have an Oracle database with Unicode data, make sure to select Force SQL_WCHAR Support on the Workarounds tab of the windows Oracle ODBC Configuration dialog. If you do not, you will not be able to see the data.
- If creating a MySQL ODBC connection to use in a cross-connection query, you must specify a database in the Windows MySQL ODBC Configuration dialog.
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Specify the connection properties in the Create New Connection dialog. Review the following for additional information:
General Use data source name
Select to display the Data source names.
Do not select this option if you want to display the driver names.
Data source name
Select the driver or data source name you added in the previous steps.
User
Enter the user name to use when connecting.
Password
Enter the password to use when connecting.
Tip: After connecting, you can set a master password to further secure your connection in Tools | Options| Environment | Security.
Database
Specify the location of the database schema. Click
to create a temporary connection and display available schemas in the drop-down list.
Information
Data Source Name
Displays the selected driver or data source name.
Driver
Displays the ODBC driver associated with the data source.
Category (Optional) Select an existing category or create a new one. -
Click Connect to connect immediately while saving the connection information. Optionally, click Save to save the connection without connecting.
Tip: Connections are stored in the connections.xml file and can be found by clicking the Application Data Directory link in Help | About.
Configure Oracle LDAP Support
You can create Oracle Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) connections when your Oracle client is configured for LDAP. Once the client is configured, Toad retrieves names from your LDAP server and displays them in the Database Name list in the Create New Connection window.
Notes:
- To connect using LDAP, you must install an Oracle client on the computer.
- Toad supports a 9i, 10g, and 11 client and the Oracle Instant client. If you want to use the instant client, you must configure it to work with Toad. See Configure the Oracle Instant Client for more information.
To configure the Oracle client for LDAP
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Obtain the LDAP.ORA file from your database administrator.
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Copy the LDAP.ORA file to the folder where the SQLNET.ORA file for your Oracle client is located. The default folder is: ORACLE_HOME\network\admin
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Open the SQLNET.ORA file and enter "(LDAP)" as the value for the NAMES.DIRECTORY_PATH as follows:
NAMES.DIRECTORY_PATH= (LDAP)
Note: If you are using multiple naming methods, add the (LDAP) value to existing parameter values. For example, if you are using both the TNSNAMES and LDAP naming methods, add LDAP to TNSNAMES as follows:
NAMES.DIRECTORY_PATH= (TNSNAMES, LDAP)
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Save the SQLNET.ORA file.
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Launch Toad and select File | New | Connection.
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Create an LDAP connection following the procedure in Create Oracle Connections. In step 3, select a database on the LDAP server from the Database Name list.
Create Oracle Connections
You can create a new connection, or connect to an existing connection from the Create New Connection window.
Tip: You can configure Toad Data Point to accept connection information from Toad for Oracle.
Client Connection or Direct Connection
You can connect to your database using a native Oracle database provider in Toad using one of the following methods:
|
Connection Method |
Advantages |
Disadvantages |
|---|---|---|
|
Client connection Client tab—Uses an installed Oracle Client or Oracle Instant Client to establish a connection to the database from Toad. |
Supports LDAP |
Requires an Oracle client Note: Toad supports Oracle clients and Oracle Instant clients using version 9i or later. |
|
Direct connection Direct Connect tab—Uses TCP/IP to connect directly to the database. |
Does not require an installed Oracle Client Recommended for connecting to Oracle 8i databases |
This method only supports common data types. Some advanced Oracle object types cannot be retrieved when connecting using this method. This method does not support LDAP. (To connect using LDAP, use the Client Connection method instead.) This method cannot be used in a cross-connection query. |
|
Note: Dell recommends using one of the methods described in this table to connect to Oracle rather than an ODBC driver. Because ODBC connectivity is generic, it is not full-featured and may not be as robust as the fully exploited native database provider. | ||
Configure the Oracle Instant Client
The Oracle Instant client installs only those files needed to connect to your database using OCI. Because this client does not write to the registry (no ORACLE_HOMES) or add to the environmental path, you must manually set environment variables so the client can be used with Toad.
To configure the Oracle Instant Client to work with Toad
- Save the Oracle Instant Client files in any location on the computer where Toad is installed.
- On your Windows desktop, right-click My Computer and select Properties.
- Select the Advanced tab and click Environment Variables.
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Click New under System Variables and complete the following:
Variable name Variable Value PATH <Path where Instant Client is installed>;%PATH%
For Example: C:\Program Files\OracleInstantClient;%PATH%
TNS_ADMIN <Path where tnsnames.ora file is installed>
- To use the Oracle Instant Client connection in a cross-connection query, you must also install an Oracle ODBC driver. (While the Oracle Client full install includes an ODBC driver, the Oracle Instant Client does not.)
Note: You cannot use an Oracle Direct Connection in a cross-connection query.
Create an Oracle Connection
To create an Oracle connection
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Click
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Select Oracle from the Group list box.
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Review the following for additional information:
Login Tab Description Database name
Select the alias to use when connecting. This list displays aliases from LDAP as well as any local tnsnames.ora file.
Note: If you do not select a database, Toad uses the ORACLE_SID for the selected home. If an ORACLE_SID value does not exist and you do not specify a database, you cannot connect.
Password
Enter the password to use when connecting.
Tip: After connecting, you can set a master password to further secure your connection in Tools | Options| Environment | Security.
Connect as
Select whether to connect as either SYSDBA or SYSOPER if you have the appropriate permissions. Otherwise, use the default.
Schema
Select a schema if you frequently work in a different schema than the one associated with your user name. Explain plan table
(Optional) Specify the location of an existing explain plan table to use instead of Toad automatically creating one for you when you execute a statement. This is useful if you do not have necessary permissions to create explain plan tables or want to use an existing table.
Category
Select or create a category if you want to color code Editor tabs for a specific connection. This can help differentiate between development and production databases. You can also set an option to color code the Object Explorer pane and object editor windows (Create, Alter, Drop, etc.). Save password
Select this checkbox if you plan to use Automation to generate reports. Oracle Client Tab
Description
Current home
Modify the Oracle home to use, if needed.
TNSNames Editor
Click this button to edit your local TNSNames file.
Tip: You can press CTRL+F to open the Find/Replace window to locate entries in the TNS Names Editor. Pressing F3 locates the next entry that matches your criteria.
SQLNET Editor
Click this button to edit SQLNET.ORA parameters. Before editing this file, you should create a backup copy. See SQLNET.ORA Profile Parameters in the Oracle documentation for more information. Direct Tab
Description
SID
Enter the ORACLE_SID value for the database. This value is specified in the registry under each installed home.
Advanced Tab Description ODBC driver
If an Oracle Client is installed, the default is the Oracle ODBC driver.
If no Oracle Client is installed, the default is the Microsoft Access ODBC driver.
Tip: You can specify the ODBC driver to use for all connections for this database provider in Tools | Options | Database | Oracle.
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Click Connect to connect immediately while saving the connection information. Optionally, click Save to save the connection without connecting.
Tip: Connections are stored in the connections.xml file and can be found by clicking the Application Data Directory link in Help | About.