Displaying Results from a Database

Return to Using the FrontPage Database Wizards

You can build an interactive web page that allows you to display the contents of your database by choosing Database from the Insert menu, then selecting Results from the slide-out window.  The following instructions assume that you have a database in your web and that you have a "database connection" already established.

1. Go to the Insert menu and select Database Results.  That will start the wizard.

If you wish to display the contents of an existing database connection (that is, one you have already established) select it from the pull-down menu under "Use an existing database connection."  All of the databases to which you have made connections will be listed.  Select the database you wish to use and click  "Next >." If you do not see the database listed that you want to use, click the radio button to use a new database connection, then click on Create. (Click here if you need a refresher on creating a database connection)

2. Select the record source (table) with the fields/values you would like to display

Next, choose the table you want to pull data from (e.g., "Results" or "Africa").   The dropdown menu under "Record Source:" will list all tables and queries contained in the database you are using.  Select the source you wish to use and click "Next >". - or - You can also develop a custom query using SQL statements.

3. Select the field display options you want on this Displaying Results web page.

Step 3 in the Database Results Wizard gives you several options for selecting data to display.  The list next to the "Edit List..." button contains all the fields to be found in the database table you have selected to use.   You can accept to display all the fields in your table, but usually you will want to edit this list.  You can choose which fields you wish to display by clicking on the "Edit List..." button. You can also further refine a query by selecting More Options. Click More Options now to see an explanation of these options.

 

This is the Edit List window, and allows you to customize your data base results region.  Be careful not to display private information such as Social Security numbers and Photos.

4.  Select the display format for your Results web page.

You can customize the way the data will appear on the page.  Table is the layout that is most typical (each "record" is a row and each "field" is a column), but you may also wish to use "List" on occasion.    Select whether you wish the results to be displayed in a border-less table (using the checkbox) Select whether you wish the table to expand past the right margin of the page, if the values are long (I would recommend not doing this, in general). If you want to have the first row list the field names, select the checkbox next to "Include header row with column labels."

5.  Select how many records per "group" you wish to display on your results web page.

You can display all the records at once, or divide them into groups.   If you choose to divide the data into groups, FrontPage will automatically add navigation controls to the page, so that users can browse through the data. Notice the "Add search form" check box.  You can add a search form to the results page if you wish but you may find it easier to build the search form on a previous page. By clicking on the "Finish" button you will produce a database results region on your page.  You must save the page as an ASP page (use the .asp extension).