Replace an Existing Data Source

Sometimes you realize that a table you have loaded in an ADVIZOR Analyst dashboard project is not the most appropriate set of data for your intended use, and you would like to load that table from a different database table or view name, or you'd like to load it with a custom SQL query, or you'd like to load it from a different type of Data Source altogether, such as a database instead of an Excel file. This is not a directly supported type of editing, but it is possible to do without rebuilding all the project items that depend on the table.

Steps

To create a new Data Source to load an existing table from, the general technique is to create a new Data Source Template that matches the existing table name and field names and types and other attributes, and add it to the project at the same time that the old Data Source is removed. You can do this as follows:

Select the existing table in the Project Workshop, displaying the Field List View, or open the Data Source Editor and take a screen shot of the Metadata tab for the table, for reference.
From the Author Ribbon, or from the Project Workshop toolbar, open the Manage Data Sources dialog.
Click New. This opens the Data Wizard, but it won’t load the data now. (So you can specify that the new Data Source loads into the same table name as the old one.)
Configure the new Data Source to load from the new location with the same Table Name as the old one, and the same field Display Names (if any were edited) and Data Types, etc., at least for the fields that are currently In Use in the existing table. This will allow the calculations, links, and charts that depend on the existing table to be created the same with the new Data Source.
Give the new Data Source definition a distinct name, and Finish the Data Wizard. The new Data Source name will show up in the list in the bottom half of the Manage Data Sources dialog.
Select the new Data Source and click Add. It’s added to the top list.
Un-check the old Data Source (but if you're replacing just one of the tables in a multi-table Data Source, as shown above, Edit that Data Source and Delete the table), and Close the Manage Data Sources dialog. (If prompted to reload the project, decline for now.)
Save the project as an ADV, and close ADVIZOR Analyst.
Re-open the newly saved ADV file. It should load the table from the new location and evaluate any calculated expressions and links just as it did before.

Last updated 4 years ago

Steps

Select the existing table in the Project Workshop, displaying the Field List View, or open the Data Source Editor and take a screen shot of the Metadata tab for the table, for reference.

From the Author Ribbon, or from the Project Workshop toolbar, open the Manage Data Sources dialog.

Click New. This opens the Data Wizard, but it won’t load the data now. (So you can specify that the new Data Source loads into the same table name as the old one.)

Configure the new Data Source to load from the new location with the same Table Name as the old one, and the same field Display Names (if any were edited) and Data Types, etc., at least for the fields that are currently In Use in the existing table. This will allow the calculations, links, and charts that depend on the existing table to be created the same with the new Data Source.

Give the new Data Source definition a distinct name, and Finish the Data Wizard. The new Data Source name will show up in the list in the bottom half of the Manage Data Sources dialog.

Select the new Data Source and click Add. It’s added to the top list.

Un-check the old Data Source (but if you're replacing just one of the tables in a multi-table Data Source, as shown above, Edit that Data Source and Delete the table), and Close the Manage Data Sources dialog. (If prompted to reload the project, decline for now.)

Save the project as an ADV, and close ADVIZOR Analyst.

Re-open the newly saved ADV file. It should load the table from the new location and evaluate any calculated expressions and links just as it did before.

See also: