User Data Sources (UDSs)

Available on editionsStandardProfessional

The UDSs in Spatial Manager™ for AutoCAD are the way you can connect with spatial database servers or data stores, and also the way you can define the path to a particular spatial data file and its parameters. You can access the UDSs through the “SpatialManager” palette.

Usually, the access to the data tables in the servers is tedious. Depending on the type of server, you need to enter many connection parameters that are not easy to remember, such as the server name, the user, the password, the connection port, the name of the database, etc. Spatial Manager™ for AutoCAD introduces the concept of “User Data Source” (UDS), which allows you to store, inside your user settings, all the access parameters for the servers that you regularly connect to, by defining all the parameters once.

Files: If you frequently access a file that requires some connection parameters to import it into a drawing, you may be interested in creating a UDS for this file access, which will also include the connection parameters you choose at the time of defining the new UDS.

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Create a new User Data Source (UDS)

Available on editionsStandardProfessional

You can create new UDSs in Spatial Manager™ for AutoCAD using the right-click menu over the “User data sources” paragraph in the “SpatialManager” palette to start the “Create user data source” wizard.

When you create a new UDS to connect with a particular spatial database server, you need to select the appropriate data provider for this server, the connection parameters for the server, and the name of the UDS. When you create a UDS to access a particular spatial data file, you also need to select the appropriate data provider for this file, the file itself, the file parameters, and the name of the UDS. All this data is saved in your application configuration until you decide to delete or modify it.

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Edit a User Data Source (UDS)

Available on editionsStandardProfessional

You can edit a UDS in Spatial Manager™ for AutoCAD using the right-click menu over the UDS item in the “SpatialManager” palette to start the “Create user data source” wizard and proceed as described in “Create a new User Data Source (UDS).” The only difference is that the parameters you entered when you created the UDS are still there to be edited.

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Other functions for the User Data Sources (UDSs)

Available on editionsStandardProfessional

In Spatial Manager™ for AutoCAD you can delete and rename the UDS. You can also refresh the UDS content and, if the UDS is connected to a file, you can open Windows Explorer for the folder of the file location. All these functions are available using the right-click menu over the UDS item in the “SpatialManager” palette.

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Warnings in the list of User Data Sources (UDSs)

Available on editionsStandardProfessional

When problems occur with any UDS, such as deleted sources, incompatible UDSs, etc., warning messages may appear in the ‘Spatial Manager™ for AutoCAD’ “Data sources” panel that alert you about the problem caused by the corresponding inaccessible UDS.