CatBase Data Chameleon

Database Connection

First, you set up a Database Connection (choose Database Connections from the Communications menu and click on the Create a new Record button):

Note that if you are using CatBase on a Macintosh computer, you will need to install an ODBC driver and configure it (this is explained in the Reference Manual, Chapter 7, which you can download here).

Import Data directly from another data source

Once you have created a Database Connection, you can then set up an Import Style (click on the Import Data button on the main window and choose Add a new Import Style from the pop-up menu):

The Updates tab lets you tell CatBase whether you want to update your existing data or delete all the records in the table first and import a fresh set of data:

The Preferences tab lets you set various preferences for the data import, such as running a script and converting embedded style tags:

The Query tab enables you to specify which data to extract:

Now all you need to do is click the Import Now button on the Main tab!

Importing data can be automated via the Event Scheduler - for example, you can set it to automatically update itself from your data source every night.

Once you have imported the data, you can easily publish it in any number of different ways by setting up Publishing Style Sheets.

Publish data from CatBase to an ODBC Database

You can update existing data in your SQL or ODBC-compliant database or create new records from your CatBase database. To do this, first you must create a Database Connection, as shown above.

Next, create a Publishing Style Sheet - here's an example:

On the Prefs tab, you can choose various options such as only publishing records that are in a certain Set:

Go to the Create/Update tab to tell CatBase how you want to handle the creation and updating of data:

When you're ready to update your database, simply:

1. Select the records you want to publish
2. Click on the Publish Data button
3. Select your Publishing Style Sheet

This process can be simplified by creating Publishing Projects and it can be automated via the Event Scheduler.

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