Using the Connection Editor to Display Data in a PivotTable List 

There's an easy way to display refreshable data from a database on a Web page: Create a PivotTable® list and then use the connection editor to connect to the database you want. A PivotTable list is a Microsoft Office Web Component control that you can use to gather data from a database on your network and display that data on a Web page. People who browse to your page can view the most recent data, analyze it, and create reports, all from within the Microsoft Internet Explorer Web browser.

This PivotTable list displays data from a sales database on a Web page. Currently, only Beverage sales are displayed, but users could interact with the list to show a different product category, or all categories.

Ways to connect to data When you want to design a PivotTable list, you have several options to connect it to a database:

• You can set up the connection in Microsoft Excel and then publish the data to a Web page.
• You can use Microsoft Access to connect to the database and then create the Web page in data access page Design view.
• You can write a program in Microsoft Visual Basic® to connect to the database.
• You can use the connection editor.

If you're using a Web page design program such as Microsoft FrontPage® 2000, using the connection editor is the easiest of these connection methods.

What Is the Connection Editor?

The connection editor is available directly from the PivotTable list control in your design program. You can use the connection editor from any Office 2000 program that you use to design a Web page that includes a PivotTable list, including FrontPage 2000. (The connection editor isn't available when you view the PivotTable list in the browser; it's available only in the design program.)

You don't need any special knowledge or information to use the connection editor—if you can access your database from your computer, you can connect a PivotTable list to the database.

What the connection editor does The connection editor creates the "plumbing" that your Web page needs to display data from the database so that you don't have write a program or script to make the connection. Once the connection editor has created the connection, all that you and the users of your Web page need to know to access the data is the login and password for the database, if required for database access.

Information that you supply For most databases, you'll need to provide the connection editor with the name, location, and type of the database, and the login and password. You can get this information from your database administrator, who can also tell you if there's any additional information you need to access that particular database.

What Databases Can I Access?

Database support included with Office Office provides the software components you need to connect PivotTable lists to the following types of databases: Microsoft Access, dBASE, Microsoft FoxPro®, Microsoft Excel worksheet data, Oracle, Paradox, Microsoft SQL Server, text files, and Microsoft SQL Server OLAP Services.

Accessing other databases If your database isn't one of the types listed above, you'll need to install Office-compatible driver or provider software from the database manufacturer or another software vendor. Depending on the type of database, this software might be an ODBC driver, an OLE DB driver, or an OLAP provider that supports OLE DB for OLAP. You'll need to check with the vendor or the vendor's documentation to determine how to install and set up this software.

Using the Connection Editor

Once you've identified the database you want to use, follow these steps to use the connection editor:

1. Create a new, blank PivotTable list.
   This procedure is generally the same as for inserting any ActiveX® control, although the specific steps depend on the program you're using to design your Web page. In FrontPage 2000, for example, you point to Component on the Insert menu, and then click Office PivotTable. If you're using another Web page design program that supports the Microsoft Office Web Components, see that program's Help for specifics.
2. Display the Property Toolbox for the PivotTable list. To do this, make sure the blank PivotTable list is selected and activated (usually by clicking it one or more times; see Help in your design program if you're not sure how to do this), and click the Property Toolbox button on the toolbar.
3. If the Data Source section is not expanded, click the Data Source bar.
4. Click Connection.
5. Click Connection Editor.
6. The steps to follow to fill in the tabs of the Data Link Properties dialog box depend on the type of database you're connecting to. Click one of the following links for instructions for your database.
   Microsoft Access
   dBASE
   Microsoft FoxPro
   Microsoft Excel worksheet data
   Oracle
   Paradox
   Microsoft SQL Server
   Text file databases
   Microsoft SQL Server OLAP Services
   Other database for which you've installed Office-compatible support