ConnectionString Property

Contains the information used to establish a connection to a data source.

Settings and Return Values

Sets or returns a String value.

Remarks

Use the ConnectionString property to specify a data source by passing a data source name (DSN) or a detailed connection string containing a series of argument = value statements separated by semicolons. If the property value contains an equal sign ("="), ADO assumes you are providing a connection string rather than a DSN.

ADO supports five arguments for the ConnectionString property; any other arguments pass directly to the provider without any processing by ADO. The arguments ADO supports are as follows:

Argument	Description
Provider	Specifies the name of a provider to use for the connection.
Data Source	Specifies the name of a data source for the connection, for example, a SQL Server database registered as an ODBC data source.
User	Specifies the user name to use when opening the connection.
Password	Specifies the password to use when opening the connection.
File Name	Specifies the name of a provider-specific file (for example, a persisted data source object) containing preset connection information.

After you set the ConnectionString property and open the Connection object, the provider may alter the contents of the property, for example, by mapping the ADO-defined argument names to their provider equivalents.

The ConnectionString property automatically inherits the value used for the ConnectionString argument of the Open method, so you can override the current ConnectionString property during the Open method call.

Because the File Name argument causes ADO to load the associated provider, you cannot pass both the Provider and File Name arguments.

The ConnectionString property is read/write when the connection is closed and read-only when it is open.

Applies To

Connection