Creating and Managing a Connection

In this section:

To access an application database, you must create a target that connects the adapter to the database. The iWay Technology Adapter for ESRI uses connections to a data directory and a database. After the target is created, it is automatically saved. You must establish a connection to the target each time you start iWay Explorer or after disconnecting from the target.

This topic explains how to create a new target and how to connect to a target. It also explains how to disconnect from a target, as well as edit and delete a target.

Note: The iWay Technology Adapter for ESRI is listed as GeoLoad in iWay Explorer.


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Creating a Target

You can create three types of targets for the iWay Adapter for ESRI. They are:

  1. Geocoding

    This target allows you to retrieve spatial information (for example, latitude and longitude) for an address.

  2. ESRI Loading

    This target allows you to load geocoded data into an ESRI database.

  3. Geocoding and ESRI Loading

    This target allows you to perform both geocoding and ESRI loading for a specific set of data.



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Procedure: How to Create a New Target for Geocoding

To create a new Geocoding target for the iWay Technology Adapter for ESRI:

  1. In the left pane of iWay Explorer, expand the iWay Adapters node.
  2. Right-click the GeoLoad node and select Add Target.

    The Add Target dialog box opens, as shown in the following image. This dialog box provides fields to define the target.

    1. In the Name field, type a descriptive name for the target.
    2. In the Description field, type a brief description of the target.
    3. From the Type drop-down list, select Geocoding.
  3. Click OK.

    The Geocoding dialog box appears, as shown in the following image. This dialog box provides a single field to define a path to the geocoding data and two action buttons.

  4. Enter the following connection information.

    The following table lists and defines the connection parameters related to a Geocoding target.

    Parameter

    Definition

    Geocoding path

    Path to the directory where GDT Matchmaker software is installed, for example, the C:/ACG directory. This software provides the geospatial (latitude and longitude) data needed to perform geocoding.

    This directory must reside on the machine where iWay Explorer is installed, or be accessible either directly through the network or a mapped drive.

  5. Click OK.

    In the left pane, the new Geocoding target appears under the GeoLoad node.

You are finished creating the new target.



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Procedure: How to Create a New Target for ESRI Loading

To create a new ESRI Loading target for the iWay Technology Adapter for ESRI:

  1. In the left pane of iWay Explorer, expand the iWay Adapters node.
  2. Right-click the GeoLoad node and select Add Target.

    The Add Target dialog box opens, as shown in the following image. This dialog box provides fields to define the target.

    1. In the Name field, type a descriptive name for the target.
    2. In the Description field, type a brief description of the target.
    3. From the Type drop-down list, select ESRI Loading.
  3. Click OK.

    The ESRI loading dialog box opens, as shown in the following image. This dialog box provides several fields to define access to the ESRI database and two action buttons.

  4. Enter the connection information specific to the type of target you are creating.

    The following table lists and defines the connection parameters related to the ESRI Loading target.

    Parameter

    Definition

    Host

    The name of the server hosting the ESRI database to which you want to connect.

    Port

    Port number to access the ESRI database.

    Database

    Name of the ESRI database.

    User

    User ID that allows access to the ESRI database.

    Password

    Password associated with the user ID.

  5. Click OK.

    In the left pane, the new ESRI Loading target appears under the GeoLoad node.

You are finished creating the new target.



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Procedure: How to Create a New Target for Geocoding and ESRI Loading

To create a new Geocoding and ESRI Loading target for the iWay Technology Adapter for ESRI:

  1. In the left pane of iWay Explorer, expand the iWay Adapters node.
  2. Right-click the GeoLoad node and select Add Target.

    The Add Target dialog box opens, as shown in the following image. This dialog box provides fields to define the target.

    1. In the Name field, type a descriptive name for the target.
    2. In the Description field, type a brief description of the target.
    3. From the Type drop-down list, select Geocoding and ESRI loading.
  3. Click OK.

    The Geocoding and ESRI Loading dialog box opens. This dialog box contains two tabs that provide connection parameter fields for both geocoding and ESRI loading.

    The following image shows the Geocoding and ESRI Loading dialog box with the ESRI tab displayed. This tab provides several fields to define access to the ESRI database and two action buttons.

    The following image shows the Geocoding and ESRI Loading dialog box with the Geocoding tab displayed. This tab provides a single field to define a path to the geocoding data, a check box to return the geocoding data, and two action buttons.

  4. Enter the connection information specific to the type of target you are creating.

    The following table lists and defines the connection parameters related to the Geocoding and ESRI Loading target.

    Parameter

    Definition

    Host

    The name of the server hosting the ESRI database to which you want to connect.

    Port

    Port number to access the ESRI database.

    Database

    Name of the ESRI database.

    User

    User ID that allows access to the ESRI database.

    Password

    Password associated with the user ID.

    Geocoding path

    Path to the directory where GDT Matchmaker software is installed, for example, the C:/ACG directory. This software provides the geospatial (latitude and longitude) data needed to perform geocoding.

    This directory must reside on the machine where iWay Explorer is installed, or be accessible either directly through the network or a mapped drive.

    Return Geocoding data or not

    If selected, the adapter returns the geocoding information in an XML response document.

    This is a parameter for a Geocoding and ESRI Loading target, which normally loads the geocoding data into the ESRI database without retaining the geocoded data in an XML response document.

  5. Click OK.

    In the left pane, the new Geocoding and ESRI Loading target appears under the GeoLoad node.

You are finished creating the new target.


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Connecting to a Target

You must establish a connection to a target each time you start iWay Explorer or if a target is disconnected. A connected target shows a plus sign next to target node.



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Procedure: How to Connect to a Target

To connect to a target:

  1. In the left pane of iWay Explorer, expand the iWay Adapters node and the GeoLoad node.
  2. Select the target node you want to open.
    • When you select a Geocoding target, the path to the ACG directory that was specified when the target was created appears on the right. The following image is an example of this display.

    • When you select an ESRI Loading target, the connection parameters defined when the target was created are displayed on the right. The following image is an example of this display.

    • When you select a Geocoding and ESRI Loading target, the pane on the right displays two tabs, ESRI and Geocoding. When selected, each tab shows the parameters that were defined when the target was created. The following image is an example of this display with the ESRI loading tab highlighted and the parameter fields containing the related values.

  3. Connect to the target. This step depends on the type of target to which you are connecting, as follows.
    • For a Geocoding target, right-click the target node and select Connect.

      The target connects and an AddressRoot node appears under the target node.

    • For an ESRI loading or a Geocoding and ESRI Loading target, enter a password in the Password field on the right. Then right-click the target node and select Connect.

      The target connects and a ESRIRoot node appears under the target node.

      Note: A message appears if you select Connect before entering a password or if you did not fully define the ESRI loading parameters when the target was created. The message asks you to provide the connection information before connecting.


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Disconnecting a Target

Although you can maintain multiple open connections, we recommend that you disconnect from targets that are not in use.



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Procedure: How to Disconnect a Target

To disconnect a target:

  1. In the left pane of iWay Explorer, expand the iWay Adapters node.
  2. Expand the GeoLoad node.
  3. Right-click the connection you want to close and select Disconnect.

Disconnecting from ESRI drops the connection, but the target definition and its node remain accessible from the left pane. The following image shows a disconnected target, Stores12_geocoding, which appears with a red X below the node.


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Editing a Target

After you create a target using iWay Explorer, you can edit any information that you provided when it was created.



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Procedure: How to Edit a Target

To edit a target:

  1. In the left pane of iWay Explorer, expand the iWay Adapters node and the GeoLoad node.
  2. Be sure the target you want to edit is disconnected. See Disconnecting a Target for instructions.
  3. Right-click the target and select Edit.
    • If you selected a Geocoding target, the Geocoding dialog box opens displaying the Geocoding path field with the current path.
    • If you selected an ESRI loading target, the ESRI loading dialog box opens displaying the current settings for the connection parameters.
    • If you selected a Geocoding and ESRI Loading target, the Geocoding and ESRI Loading dialog box opens displaying a tab for each parameter set and the current settings.
  4. Modify the connection parameters, as needed.
  5. Click OK.

The target parameters are updated with the new settings.


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Deleting a Target

You can also delete a target. When you delete the target, the node disappears from the list of GeoLoad targets in the left pane of the explorer.



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Procedure: How to Delete a Target

To delete a target:

  1. In the left pane of iWay Explorer, expand the iWay Adapters node, and the GeoLoad node to view the list of targets.
  2. Right-click the target you want to delete and select Delete. (The target can be connected or disconnected to perform a delete.)

    A message appears, prompting you to confirm the deletion of the node.

  3. Click OK.

    The node disappears from the list of available connections.


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