Database emulation

The Database emulation differs from other emulation types. With other emulations, data is pushed either to PlanetPress Workflow processes running on servers, or to PlanetPress Design documents residing on a printer. But in the case of the Dababase emulation, data must be pulled from the data source: a query must be performed on the database to extract the relevant data.

When generating output from the design tool (which is the Designer in Connect, or Design in PlanetPress suite) one can open the document and then use the Data Selector to select a database. By making a connection to the database, its structure can be accessed and it becomes possible to determine how data is to be pulled into the document.

In a Workflow process, the database query has to be performed automatically. This can be performed by the Database Query Action task. The task generates a data file that it passes to the following task, be it another Action task, or any Output task. For help on setting up the database emulation see: Choosing a database sample file.

Note: You can also use the Connect Workflow Database Action task to get data from a database, and output in multiple different formats such as CSV. See Database Query.

Bear the following in mind:

  • The person or plugin performing the query must have full access to the database.
  • The data is extracted at the time of the query. A new query must be performed whenever the data needs to be updated.
  • Any changes to the structure of the database may have an impact on automated data querying tasks.
  • You must have the proper ODBC driver installed to use this emulation.

Database emulation supports SQL ANSI 92 or higher, and supports the following data types: string, integer, floating point, all date formats, and text-only MEMO. It does not support any binary data types such as Binary Large Object (BLOB), images, sound files, and MEMO data that includes binary data.

Database emulation requires version 2.5 or higher of Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC), including JET 4.0, and you can save database emulation configurations to a file.

Database emulation options

For help on setting up a database emulation see: Choosing a database sample file.

Note for PlanetPress Suite users: For information about setting up a database emulation in a Design document, please see the relevant page in the PlanetPress Design User Guide.