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With the Data Provider, Connection String, and any advanced settings defined as required, click the  button to connect to the database. If the connection is successful, the button will change to , and the string Connection succeeded! displayed to its left. If there is an issue, the button will remain in disconnected mode ( ), and information about why the connection is failing will be presented to the left (e.g. The 'MICROSOFT.JET.OLED.4.0' provider is not registered on the local machine).

The completed data field mapping process will provide live database data to the Workspace and the Custom Data Synchronization interface. The setup can be subsequently edited as required.

The connection to a company's internal parts database can be established manually, through a nominated interface and connection string, or by using the Workspace’s Connection Wizard – which automatically determines the interface and connection string.

The Advanced Settings window also offers an optional field for defining a case insensitivity function for the database (Function name for ignoring case-sensitive), which might include the UPPER keyword for example.

Parts Database information sourced through the Custom Data Synchronization interface, including localized Pricing and Quantity data, is available to the ActiveBOM document and to new/existing Workspace library components, when adding/defining a Part Choice.

Note that an ID reference field must be nominated as a key index field (Key Fields) for the database mapping – this would normally be a proprietary ID that is unique to each entry, such as an internal company part number. Once the System Fields have been suitably mapped to the connected database, click the  button at the top-right of the page to save the Part Source configuration.

A database connected to by the Custom Database Parts Provider interface system must be locally available to the Workspace – that is, the database itself must be located on the PC that hosts the Workspace. In addition, for Altium Designer to be able to interface to any custom parts database connection, the Custom Data Synchronization option must be enabled (on the Configure Platform page (under Importers\Exporters)).

Which Suppliers are actually used – a list of Approved Suppliers – is managed by the Workspace through the Part Providers page of its browser interface. This facilitates centralized supply chain management, with designers across the entire organization using the same approved list of Suppliers with which to source supply chain intelligence for parts used in their designs.

If a database Parts Source is enabled for use in the Workspace, the custom parts database connected by that part source will be available as a source of Manufacturer/Supplier information in Altium Designer, when connected to the Workspace.

When defining part choices for a new/existing Workspace library component through the Component Editor (in its Single Component Editing mode).

With the exception of enabling the Custom Data Synchronization option in Altium Designer (on the Configure Platform page (under Importers\Exporters)) and being connected to the Workspace, no setup is required in Altium Designer to access that supplier data. All ODBC, OLE-DB, SQL etc connections to parts databases are managed by the Workspace.

To initiate the database connection setup, click the  button, at the top-right of the Part Providers page. The Add new Part Source page will present. Enter a Name for the new source and then select the Manual- or Wizard-based approach to establish the database link.

For database connectivity, the Parts Provider Synchronizer requires access to the 64-bit version of the Microsoft OLE DB Provider.

Supplier link data sources are added and configured in the Workspace through the Part Providers page (Admin - Part Providers) of its browser interface.

The local Part Catalog stores items representative of actual Manufacturer Parts, along with one or more items representative of Supplier Parts – the incarnations of those Manufacturer Parts, as sold by the Suppliers/Vendors. Each Supplier Part is a reference to an item in a parts database – either the aggregate parts database of the Altium Parts Provider (which itself interfaces to, and gathers the parts from, enabled Suppliers), or a linked local parts database.

With the database and its constituent table connections established, its contents are viewable under the Data tab, which can be used as a guide to mapping the database fields to the Workspace Part Source fields.

Use the Indexing part choices every field to specify an automated re-indexing interval. A range of intervals are provided, from every minute, up to every 10 days. The default interval is 1 hour, but if you don't want this automated re-indexing to occur, set the field to None.

In situations where a 32-bit version of Microsoft Access is installed however, the operating system will not accept the 64-bit Access Database Engine installation. See Using Database Libraries with 32-bit and 64-bit Altium Designer on the Same Computer for information on the options available.

With connection testing successful, click the  button in the Connection String Builder window – connection to the database will be made, as verified by the  button changing to , and the string Connection succeeded! displayed to its left.

In this case the (.Net) Data Provider setting and its Connection String are manually specified, as determined by the target database. See the Connection Strings reference for helpful information on creating connection strings for a wide range of databases.

When enabled in Altium Designer, the Custom Data Synchronization feature will port component data information from a parts database interface connection that has been set up in the Workspace. The database accessed by the Workspace is typically an internal company parts reference that offers data such as company and manufacturer part numbers, along with other parametric information that is specifically relevant to the organization.

Map the main System Fields to comparative fields in the source database, so that searches will behave as expected and suitable Manufacturer/Supplier information will be returned.

A Workspace database connection can be made manually by entering the interface method and connection string, or by running the Connection Source Wizard.

Each Enterprise Server Workspace has its own dedicated Part Catalog. This is a local part catalog database, dedicated to the management and tracking of manufacturer parts and their associated supplier parts. The catalog is installed as a service (Part Catalog Service), provided through the Enterprise Server and works only with the Workspace.

While connected to the Workspace the Altium Parts Options section will simply be a read-only reflection of what has been centrally configured in that Workspace.

When using the Connection Wizard to target an Excel spreadsheet in the XLSX (workbook) format, select Microsoft Excel 2007 as the Database Type. For the XLS spreadsheet format, choose the Microsoft Excel option.

After modifying data in a defined Part Source – for example, changes in the existing connected company parts database, or pointing to a different database – that Part Source should be re-indexed, so that searching for components can be optimized for speed. This entails re-indexing the part choices for that Part Source.

The Advanced Settings window offers fields for Left and Right Quote Character settings, which need to be correct to allow the system to successfully build SQL queries. Note that different database systems will use a different set of characters, for example:

The database connection Wizard provided by the Workspace’s Add new Part Source page is a simple and quick way to establish the connection to a local Parts Source database, and should suit most situations. When the target database type and its connection requirements are less straightforward, the Manual connection method may be needed.

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The connected database Field data is mapped to the Workspace Part Source System Field data via the comparative column listings under the Field Mappings tab, which allows the database entries to be assigned to matching Data Provider entries in the Workspace. The system will automatically link equivalent field names, while the drop-down list on each entry can be used to manually select a suitable field – in the below screen image, the Costing database field is being mapped to the Price system field, the Manufacturer PtNo to Manufacturer Part Num, and so on. A field may also be disabled from the parts searching process.

The Data Management – Parts Providers page of the Preferences dialog is command-central for configuring which Suppliers will be available when searching for parts data, along with other options relating to linking to Supplier data. When connected to the Workspace from Altium Designer, the Altium Parts Options region becomes read-only and adopts those settings defined for the Workspace (specifically, the Altium Parts Provider parts source, within the Part Providers area of the Workspace's browser interface). Text will appear above the section to remind you of this. Refer back to the section Configuring the Altium Parts Provider for more information.

The Wizard, activated by the  button, simply requests the type and location of the database you wish to connect to. It also allows the connection to be tested for confirmation that the database has been successfully accessed.

To configure the available suppliers for the Altium Parts Provider source either click on its name, or its associated edit control (). The detailed configuration page will be presented:

The actual supply chain intelligence – comprising Manufacturer (and part number), Supplier (and part number), Description, Pricing and Availability – is sourced from the Workspace's local Part Catalog and the relevant part source.

The completion of the Manual or Wizard process establishes the correct Database interface and connection string. Since a single database can include multiple tables and database elements, the required table data must be selected for access through the Active Table Name drop-down menu. Note that a single database could contain several tabular variations of Manufacture Part Number information, for example.