Download a Sample Database from the Microsoft Site

Start this chapter by downloading a sample Database from the Microsoft Site. Enter this URL on your address bar and begin downloading. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=C6661372-8DBE-422B-8676-C632D66C529C&displaylang=en . Make sure that you remember where you put the file because you will be specifying the directory later on. Save any previous work you have done on the Visual Basic Application and then create a new project.

Adding a Data Source

The first step in connecting to a database is by identifying the source. Go to the Data Sources tab on the upper right side of the Visual Basic screen and then Add a New Data Source.

Select "Database" and then "New Connection..."

Select Data Source and then set it to "Microsoft Access Database File..."

The database file name is "Nwind.mdb". You should know where you saved this *.mdb file when you downloaded it earlier.

Click OK and proceed with adding the data source.

Once you are done, you will see the database for Northwind traders as shown below.

Exploring the Database

Now that you have the database working. You can browse through it on the Solution Explorer window. Check out the many data that you can work with as shown below.