Testing your StoreFront database connection

To test the database connection in your site, open a Web browser and enter the URL to the search.asp file in the root of your web.  This page should be located at:

 http://www.yourweb.com/search.asp.

If the page loads without displaying an error, congratulations! Your database connection has been successfully established.

If the page does not load, you may need to edit a few configuration options:

1. Click the Store Builder icon, which is located second from the right on your StoreFront toolbar.
    
2. The StoreFront Connection dialog box will appear. Here is where you need to enter information in order to make your database connection work.

   
    

3. The first option is the Connection List, where you can save up to 5 different database connections. Select Connection1 to save the information you will enter as Connection1.
    

4. Since you are connecting to a database in a live web, check Use Remote Database Connection.
    

5. Also check Use Datahandler.
   * If you encounter an error message referring to a datahandler or RDS datahandler, uncheck this option and try again.
    

6. In the Host field, enter www.yourdomain.com or your IP address.
    
7. In the DSN field, enter the System DSN that points to your database. This should be the same name you requested in your System DSN request to Acme.
    
8. You may skip the Login Required fields.
    
9. For the Database, choose Access.
    
10. Leave Use Custom Connection String unchecked.
     
11. Click Test Connection to to test the connection to your database. If the test is successful, click Connect.
     
12. The Store Builder should now load. You may refer to your help file or user manual for information on the various Store Builder tools.
     
13. Once you can successfully connect to your database, you can do everything necessary to build and configure your StoreFront web. This will involve many minor tasks, such as setting tax rates, choosing shipping methods, selecting the payment methods your site will accept, and so forth. Possibly the most important task in the creation of the web, however, is the design and construction of product pages. Before creating your creating product pages, you must first configure your path settings.