NOTE: The SQL data source may not be licensed in your RTView installation.

From the Object Properties window you can access the Attach to SQL Data dialog, which is used to connect an object to your database using an SQL query. Once an object has been attached to your database it receives continuous updates.

When an object property is attached to data, the Property Name and Value in the Object Properties window will be displayed in green. This indicates that editing this value from the Object Properties window is no longer possible. To remove the data attachment and resume editing capabilities in the Object Properties window, right-click on the Property Name and select Detach from Data. You will recognize that an object property has been detached from the database when the Property Name and Value are no longer green.
 

To bring up the Attach to SQL Data dialog, right-click on the Property Name from the Object Properties window and select Attach to Data>SQL. The Attach to SQL Data dialog provides drop down menus and an optional filter field that allow you to specify information that will be used to create an SQL query for the selected database. Alternatively, select the Enter SQL Query checkbox in order to enter an advanced query.

Use the -sqlquote command line or applet parameter options to enclose all table and column names specified in the Attach to SQL Data dialog in quotes when an SQL query is run. This is useful when attaching to databases that support quoted case-sensitive table and column names. NOTE: If a case-sensitive table or column name is used in the Filter field, or you are entering an advanced query in the SQL Query field, they must be entered in quotes even if the -sqlquote option is specified.
 
 

Database Name	Name of database to query or RTViewDs. You may specify a database connection on the SQL Connections tab of the Application Options dialog.
Enter SQL Query	Select the checkbox in order to enter an advanced query. If selected, the SQL Query text field, where you can enter your query, will replace the Table Name, Column(s) and Filter fields. NOTE: This option is for advanced users, SQL syntax will not be validated or checked for errors.
Table Name	Name of table in database to query.
Column(s)	Columns in table to display.
Filter	Optional SQL filter to apply to query.
Update Mode	Select one of the following: Run Query Once - Select this checkbox if the data returned by this query is static. If selected, RTView will run this query only once. This is the default setting.  Run Query Every Update Period - Select to run this query each update period. See Application Options for information on setting the update period.  Run Query Every Query Interval - Select to run this query once every Query Interval. Run Query On Demand - Select to run this query each time a display that uses the query is opened and each time a substitution string that appears in the query string has changed.
Query Interval (seconds)	Controls how often RTView will run this query. Enter the time in seconds or a substitution value (e.g. $intervalQueryPeriod). The Update Mode must be set to Run Query Every Query Interval. NOTE: The query interval is evaluated during each update pass, so the amount of time elapsed between queries may be longer than the value entered. For example, if the update period is 2 seconds and the query interval is 5 seconds, the query will get run every six seconds.
Maximum Rows	Enter the maximum number of rows to return from this query. NOTE: On some objects an additional property may further reduce the number of data points displayed. For example, the maxNumberOfRows property on the table or the maxPointsPerTrace property on the trend graph.
Data Server	Select to read data through your configured Data Server and not directly from the SQL data source. Default - Select the default Data Server you configured in Application Options>Data Server. None - Bypass data being redirected through the specified data server(s) for this attachment and instead attach directly to the data source. Named Data Servers - Select a Named Data Server that you configured in Application Options>Data Server. Multi-Server Attachment - To configure multiple data servers, enter a semicolon (;) delimited list containing two or more Named Data Servers (e.g. ds101;ds102). Each name specified must correspond with a Named Data Server that you configured in Application Options>Data Server. It is also possible to specify __default and __none (e.g. __default;ds101;ds102). NOTE: The values __default and __none begin with two underscore characters. Alternatively, a value of * can be entered to specify all data servers, including __default and __none. When multiple data servers are specified, the data attachment will be directed to each data server in the list. For tabular data attachments, a column named DataServerName will be added as the first column of the table and contain the name of the server from which the data was received. A multi-server attachment will receive data independently from each of the servers it specifies, so in most cases it will be necessary to combine the tables received into a single table. This can be accomplished in two ways: 1) The multi-server attachment can be applied to a local cache that has the DataServerName column specified as an index column. The current table of that cache will contain the combination of the tables received from all servers. NOTE: It may also be necessary to configure cache row expiration settings to remove defunct rows. 2) The multi-server attachment can be applied as the Table argument of the RTView function named Combine Multi-Server Tables.

The Database Name drop down menu lists all available databases. The Database Name field automatically displays the name of the default database. If the item you require is not listed, type your selection into the field. A Database Repository file can be used to populate the initial values of drop down menus for Table Name and Column(s). See Application Options for information on how to create a Database Repository file. You can also create a file to exclude tables from the Table Name drop down menu. See SQL Database Connection Setup for details. Otherwise, drop down menus populate based on databases added from the Application Options dialog or those typed directly into the Database Name field. The Filter field is optional and uses standard SQL syntax.

NOTE: By default RTView will attempt to communicate with your database using a JDBC-ODBC bridge connection that is not password protected. If you are using a direct JDBC connection or a password protected ODBC-JDBC bridge connection, you will need to add your database in Application Options - SQL.

The following describes the significance of the Attach to SQL Data validation colors:
 

	Blue	Unknown	Entry does not match any known database (or you have not attempted a connection*).
	Yellow	Offline	Not connected to database.
	White	Valid state	Entry is valid.
	Red	Invalid state	Database is valid, but Table or Column(s) selected are not.

*If a database is validated as Unknown, when you click OK or Apply RTView will attempt to communicate with it using an ODBC-JDBC bridge connection that is not password protected. If the validation response remains Unknown, see Application Options - SQL for information on how to add a database. NOTE: If you are using a direct JDBC connection or a password protected ODBC-JDBC bridge connection, you will need to add your database in Application Options.

Substitutions
Substitutions allow you to build open-ended displays in which data attachments depend on values defined at the time the display is run. Generic names, such as $table1 and $table2, are used instead of specific values. Later when the display is running, these generic values are defined by the actual names, such as production_table and system_table. In this way, a single display can be reused to show data from a number of different databases. For more information on creating displays using substitution values, see Substitutions.

RTViewDs
The RTViewDs database contains two tables that contain metrics about SQL database connections and queries. In the Attach to SQL Data dialog, select RTViewDs from the Database Name drop down menu  Then, select either Connections or Keys from the Table Name drop down menu. NOTE: RTViewDs tables do not support SQL queries, row filters, custom query intervals or maximum row settings. The selected Update Mode affects the Keys table as follows:

Run Query Once	Static SQL data attachments are never removed from the Keys table.
Run Query Every Update Period or Query Interval	Periodic SQL data attachments are removed from the Keys table when the object with the attachment is deleted (e.g., when the display containing the object is closed).
Run Query On Demand	SQL data attachments are removed from the Keys table when they have completed.

Select Table Columns
From the Attach to SQL Data dialog you can specify which table columns to display and in what order they will appear. In order to populate the listing of available columns, you must first select a valid database and table.

To bring up the Select Columns dialog, click on the ellipse button in the Column(s) field (or right-click in the Column(s) field and click on Select Columns). The dialog should contain a list of Available Columns that you can add to your table.

To add a column, select an item from the Available Columns list and click on the Add button. If the item you require is not listed, type your selection into the Enter Column Name field. Click the Remove button to delete an item previously added to the Selected Columns list. You can control the order of columns in a table by arranging the items in the Selected Columns list with the Move Up and Move Down buttons.

Validation colors indicate whether selected columns are valid. However, if even one column selected is invalid the Column(s) field in the Attach to SQL Data dialog will register as an invalid entry. NOTE: Invalid columns will not update.
 

The following describes the Attach to SQL Data dialog commands:
 

Command	Description
OK	Applies values and closes the dialog.
Apply	Applies values without closing the dialog.
Reset	Resets all fields to last values applied.
Clear	Clears all fields. Detaches object from database (once Apply or OK is selected).
Cancel	Closes the dialog with last values applied.