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<h3>Creating and Editing Data Sources</h3>
<p>An Open Door 'Data Source' refers to information retrieved from the host DBMS
in the form of a SQL result set. Any number of separate Data Sources may be used
to create a report, and information from one data source maybe used to populate
another (this is especially useful when creating sub-reports that derive from
information passed from rows retrieved from the primary data source).</p>
<p>To create a new Data Source select 'Add Data Source' from the 'Data Sources'
section of the Edit menu.</p>
<p>You must enter a name for the Data Source, a good choice is the name of the
primary table used to create the result set. Optionally, a description may also
be entered.</p>
<p>The data source is specified in four parts</p>
<ol>
<li>Select List (mandatory)</li>
<li>From Clause (mandatory)</li>
<li>Where Clause (optional)</li>
<li>Order List (optional)</li>
</ol>
<p><b>Open Door</b> uses these four parts to build a SQL statement. You may use
any valid syntax acceptable to the host DBMS. Do not enter the 'Select', 'From',
'Where' or 'Order By' keywords as these will be added by <b>Open Door</b>
automatically. Parameters may be included (see <a href="SubstitutingParameters.htm"> Substituting Parameter Values</a>). You should not include quotes for text parameters or
special formatting for date values as these bill be added automatically.</p>
<p>Data Sources may be edited or removed at a later stage by selecting Edit Data
Source or Remove Data Source from the Data Sources menu.</p>
<p>Care should be taken when editing an existing source, as some columns may
already be bound to items on the report. It is recommended that any fields or
tables added are appended to the existing list. The Data Source form has been
designed in four parts to assist this.</p>
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