Workflow Connections

Owned by Kim Stimpson
Last updated: 15 Sept, 2022
3 min read

If you want a Task to retrieve data from a database then you will first need to add a Connections entry for the database.

Adding a new Connection

To add a new Connection right click on the Connections node in the tree and select New Connection.

Select from one of the above options and click OK.

If you select SDE or ORACLE then these are Read only database types; if you select PostGres then you are selecting the iShare PostGres database and this has both Read and Write access.

Oracle

If you wish to connect to an ORACLE database then there are a couple of configuration changes that are required. See Workflow Oracle Configuration for details.

ArcSDE

If you wish to connect to an SDE database then the following must be in place;

  • The required ESRI dll files must be discoverable in the server's PATH. This can occur through Installation of ESRI's ArcSDE SDK or ArcGIS. The files in question are: 
    • icudt52.dll
    • icuin52.dll
    • icuio52.dll
    • icuuc52.dll
    • msvcr71.dll
    • pe.dll
    • sde.dll
    • sg.dll.
  • Move D:\Astun\Tools\OGR\plugins\unused\ogr_SDE.dll to D:\Astun\Tools\OGR\plugins\
  • Check that SDE is available by running ogrinfo --formats in the command line and SDE should now be listed.
  • You may find it useful to download ArcExplorer as this install contains all the necessary dll files listed above.

MS SQL Server

If you wish to connect to an MS SQL Server database then you will need to add the MSSQLServer connection type. Please see Workflow MS SQL Server Configuration to enable the option and for details on configuring your SQL Server connection. This is also a Read only database type.

Use WFS if you wish to connect to a WFS Server - see the topic Workflow WFS Configuration for details.

There is no limit to the number of Workflow database connections you may add.

Editing an existing Connection

To change a Connection click on the relevant entry under the Connections node.

Deleting an existing Connection

To delete Connection details that are no longer required right click on the relevant entry under the Connections node and select Delete Connection. You will be asked to confirm your request; click Yes to delete or No to return without deleting.

Connection Details

The database connection dialog has the following available properties; whether these properties are required is defined by the particular database type.

Connection

Name

This is the unique name that you wish to give your database connection. It is advisable to call is something relevant as this name will be used to populate list box selections when creating Tasks.

Server

This is the name of the server where the database resides.

Instance

This is the name of the instance and is only required for SDE databases.

Database

This is the actual name of the database. In the case of an Oracle database this should match the entry in your TNSNAMES.ora.

Port

The port number being used.

Username

This is the Username for the Workflow to access the database.

Password

This is the password for the above Username.


Click on the Test Connection button to test your entries. Clicking Refresh Connection will refresh your connection.