Linking by using ADO

eMill links to databases using ADO (ActiveX Data Objects) connect strings: the database provider (driver) and the path have to be supplied. eMill uses the drivers installed with the operating system that include providers for most database formats. The following boxes are part of your Windows 2000 operating system and documented from the Windows help.

Starting a new project, check Advanced ADO (SQL Server, Oracle, etc.) from the data source selection box.
Enter the connect string if you know it or click on the Adjacent button to call the Windows Data Link Properties box:

Select the provider that supports your database and enter the path to your database from the Connection tab. You can know which provider to select from your database vendor or from Microsoft's literature. You can also try a few providers from the list and Test Connection (recommended).

Once the connection successfully established, return to eMill's data source selection box by clicking OK. The connect string is displayed inside the text box:

eMill will retrieve all the tables and queries (stored procedures) from the database, and displays them in the Tables/Queries window:

Select a database table/query to visualize its fields. Highlight the fields you need for your project: Click on the fields holding down the CTRL key down for multiple selections. Selecting * will generate the query that acquires all fields of the table. According to the communication channel you want to use (email and/or fax and/or SMS), you need to select a field with email adresses, fax or phone numbers..
If requested, make the field associations for information used inside the message headers. Clicking on the scroll down lists should present you with all fields you have acquired. According to the communication channel you want to use (email and/or fax and/or SMS), you need to associate the email, the fax and/or the SMS field with their database equivalent:

SQL Query generator: Highlighting the database tables/queries and available fields generates the SQL query to acquire the data. You can however edit and enter any SQL query and bypass eMill's generator.