You can run the wizard in any of the following ways:

• Choosing Add New Data Source from the Data menu.

• Choosing Add New Data Source from the Data Sources Window.

• Choosing Add New Data Source from the DataSource property of bindable Windows Forms controls.

Depending on the selected data source type (database, Web service, or object) the wizard will begin on any one of a number of pages in the wizard. For information on a specific page, select from the following list:

• Choose a Data Source Type

• Choose Your Data Connection

• Save connection string to the application configuration file

• Choose Your Database Objects

• Add Web Reference

• Select an Object you wish to bind to

Select the type of data source to create from the available options listed on the Choose a Data Source Type page. Currently supported data source types include databases, Web services, and objects. The end result of running the wizard is determined by the type of data source selected.

The following table shows the results of selecting each type:

Choose an existing connection from the list of connections or click New Connection to open the Add/Modify Connection Dialog Box (General) and create a connection to your database.

Upon completion of the Connection Properties dialog box, the Connection Details area displays read-only information about the selected provider as well as the connection string.

Choose Yes, save the connection as to store the connection string in the application configuration file. Type a name for the connection or use the provided default name.

Saving connection strings in the application configuration file simplifies the process of maintaining your application if the database connection changes. In the event of a change in the database connection you can edit the connection string in the application configuration file as opposed to editing the source code and having to recompile your application. For information on editing a connection string in the application configuration file, see How to: Edit a Connection String.

Security Note
Information is stored in the application configuration file as plain text. To reduce the possibility of unauthorized access to sensitive information, you may want to encrypt your data. For more information, see Encrypting and Decrypting Data.

From the available objects displayed in the tree view, select the objects from your database to bring into the application, and provide a name for the dataset in the Dataset name box.

Tip
The window can be resized if necessary.

Completing the Add Web Reference page of the wizard adds a reference to the Web service in your project and populates the Data Sources window with objects returned from the Web service. The data source created from the Web service contains the items returned from the Web service. For example, if the Web service returns a typed dataset, then the data source created is the dataset, whereas if the Web service returns a type, then the data source is the type returned. For more information, see Add Web Reference Dialog Box.

Note

The items that appear in the Data Sources window are dependent on the information that the Web service returns. Some Web services might not provide enough information for the Data Source Configuration Wizard to create bindable objects. For example, if the Web service returns an untyped dataset, then no items will appear in the Data Sources window upon completion of the wizard. This is because untyped datasets do not provide schema, so the wizard does not have enough information to create the data source.

Select the object to bind to from the tree view. The tree view only displays objects currently in your application. To bind an object external to your application, you must first add a reference from your application to the external object. To add references to external assemblies, click Add Reference on the Project menu, and then select the assembly you want in the Add Reference Dialog Box. After adding the reference, navigate in the tree view to the type you want and click Next.

Note
If the object you want does not appear in the wizard, build the project that contains your object and restart the wizard.

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