Setting up the database (server on remote computer)

This section applies only if your web server is running on a remote computer. If your web server is running on the same computer as Dreamweaver, skip to Creating a database connection.

Before attempting to connect to the sample database, perform the following tasks on the remote computer running your web server: copy the sample database to the computer’s hard disk, create a DSN on the computer that points to the database, and install the Sun JDBC-ODBC Bridge driver on the computer.

To set up the sample database on the remote computer:

1. Copy the database to the remote computer’s hard disk. If you installed Dreamweaver to its default location, the path on your local hard disk to the database file (tutorial.mdb) is as follows:
   • C:\Program Files\Macromedia\Dreamweaver 8\Tutorial_assets\cafe_townsend\data\tutorial.mdb (Windows)
   • /Applications/Macromedia Dreamweaver 8/Tutorial_assets/cafe_townsend/data/tutorial.mdb (Macintosh)

   You can place the file in any folder on the remote computer, or you can create a new folder for it.

   NOTE

   There are potential security issues if you place the database file inside the Inetpub folder on the remote computer. It’s better to place the file in a folder that’s not publicly accessible.

2. Make sure the Microsoft Access Driver, version 4.0 or higher, is installed on the remote computer.

   To find out whether the driver is already installed, see Viewing the ODBC drivers installed on a Windows system in Using Dreamweaver.

   If the driver is not installed, download and install the Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) 2.5 and 2.7 packages on the remote computer. You can download MDAC for free from the Microsoft website at http://msdn.microsoft.com/data/mdac/downloads/. These packages contain the latest Microsoft drivers, including the Microsoft Access Driver.

   NOTE

   Install MDAC 2.5 before installing MDAC 2.7.

3. Set up a DSN called CafeTownsend pointing to the sample database on the remote computer.

   For instructions, see the following articles on the Microsoft website:

   • If the remote computer runs Windows 2000, see Article 300596 at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;300596.
   • If the remote computer runs Windows XP, see Article 305599 at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;305599.
4. Make sure the Sun JDBC-ODBC Bridge driver is installed on the remote computer.

   You will use this driver along with the DSN to create a connection to the database. For instructions, see Installing the bridge driver.

After the database, DSN, and bridge driver are in place, create a database connection in Dreamweaver. (See Creating a database connection.)