Data Port Console

Getting Started Tutorial: Opening a database

Database files may reside on your desktop PC or on a remote Windows Mobile or Windows CE device. If your database file is in your desktop PC, you can open it by selecting the Desktop item on the data explorer and right-click it (you can also use the main menu File/Open option). This will display the item's context menu:



As you will see, most of Data Port Console commands are activated from context menus. When you select the Open Database option, you will be presented with the following dialog:



You can either enter the file name or use the button to the right of the file name text field to select one. If the SDF file is password protected, you must enter the corresponding password in the second text field otherwise the database will fail to load. Checking the Encrypted check box is also a requirement if the SDF file is encrypted.

If you want to open a database on a device connected via ActiveSync (or Windoes Mobile Device Center), you must open the connection first by clicking on the round green button of the Data Explorer pane:



When the connection is established, you will see a new item on the Data Explorer:

The device database is opened using the exact same process as you would use for the desktop. Once the database is open it is displayed as a new item on the Data Explorer:



The database is shown with its full file name on the device. If this is inconvenient you can set a shortcut name to the database using the Properties pane:



Make sure that when you set the Shortcut name you also set the UseShortcut property to True. Data Port Console will use this name to refer to the database instead of the full file name. Now the Data Explorer pane looks like this:



This information is persisted by Data Port Console so that the next time you connect to this particular Windows CE or Windows Mobile device, all your favorite databases will be preloaded, although closed (white database image).

Next: Viewing table data
Previous: Starting up