CCNC/CCNC Module 5/The database application/First Steps with Databases

---

Opening a Database

Outcomes

Upon completion of this tutorial the learner will be able to: Start OpenOffice 2.0 Base Open an existing database Create a new database Connect to another data source with OpenOffice 2.0 Base

Starting OpenOffice 2.0 Base

Figure 1. Start the OpenOffice Database

From the "Applications" menu in the top left of the Ubuntu Desktop select "Office" then "OpenOffice.org Database". This will present the OpenOffice splash screen as the operating system loads the software.

Figure 2. OpenOffice Splash

Selecting an Action

Figure 3. Select a Database

Once the OpenOffice database software has finished loading you will be prompted to select an action. You can either;

• Select database - which means, create a new database or open an existing database
• Save and proceed - which means, register your database or start working with an existing database

Most of the time you will start with "Select database"

Opening an existing Database

Figure 4. Open an existing Database

To open an existing database choose the "open an existing database file" option, and then select the desired database from the drop down list of available databases. Alternatively if OpenOffice base cannot find the selected database you will be prompted with the open dialog.

Figure 5. Open an existing Database

Figure 6. An opened Database

After selecting the open button on the dialog box the OpenOffice 2.0 Base software will open the requested database in the application main window.

Creating a new database

Figure 8. Start with a new Database

If you know you want to start a new database select the option to "Save and proceed". This will locally register your database and prompt you for the location to save this new database.

Figure 9. Save the new Database

Figure 10. Save the new Database

Connecting to a Database

Figure 7. Connect to a Database

You may also want to use OpenOffice 2.0 Base against another data source other than the "built-in" OpenOffice database. OpenOffice 2.0 Base provides access to a large selection of data sources including, but not limited to; MySQL, MS-Access, dBase, ODBC, JDBC, Adabas, Etc. To open another of these data sources select one of the available data sources and follow the prompts to enter the required connection settings.

---