Using the Program Group

A DataDirect Connect for ADO.NET 4.3 program group is created during installation. The program group provides the following shortcuts:

• Administration Tool
• Online help
• License extender
• Online books
• Readme
• Processor Information Utility

The following sections provide additional information about the Administration Tool and the Processor Information Utility.

Administration Tool

The Connect for ADO.NET Administration Utility window allows you to customize the final installation package. It includes the following parts:

• The Performance Counters tab allows you to create the performance counters manually for the data providers.
• The Visual Studio Integration tab allows you to integrate data provider components into Visual Studio.

Using the Performance Counters Tab

All DataDirect Connect for ADO.NET data providers install a set of PerfMon counters that let you tune and debug applications that use the data provider. The data provider's counters are located in the Performance Monitor under a category name, for example, DataDirect Oracle ADO.NET Data Provider.

The performance counters are created automatically the first time an application uses the provider. However, if the application is run as a user who does not have sufficient permissions to create the counters (for example, the IIS user), counter creation may fail silently.

This utility allows you to manually create the performance counter categories as the current user.

To manually create the performance counters:

1. Select the Administration Tool icon from the DataDirect Connect for ADO.NET 4.3 program group.
2. Select the Performance Counters tab. In the following figure, the current user has permissions for four data providers..
3. Click the link for the counters that you want to install or reinstall.
4. Click Close.

Using the Visual Studio Integration Tab

The Progress DataDirect Connect for ADO.NET data providers support integration into Microsoft Visual Studio. This means that developers can use the graphical user interface of Visual Studio to perform a variety of tasks.

If Visual Studio is present when the providers are installed, integration is automatically configured. If Visual Studio is installed after the providers have been installed, or if integration has been removed due to an uninstall, the Integration Tool can be run to re-integrate the data providers with Visual Studio.

The Administration Tool integrates the product components into Visual Studio when:

• You install the DataDirect Connect for ADO.NET data providers before installing Visual Studio and you subsequently install it
• You install a different version of Visual Studio, you can register the data providers using the Visual Studio Integration Tool.
• You uninstall DataDirect Connect for ADO.NET version 4.3 data providers, and you have an existing installation of DataDirect Connect for ADO.NET version 4.2 data providers.

To integrate the installed data providers into Visual Studio 2008:

1. Install Visual Studio according to the instructions in the product’s documentation.
2. Select the Administration Tool icon from the DataDirect Connect for ADO.NET 4.3 program group.
3. Select the Visual Studio Integration tab, then click the Install provider integration link.
4. Click Close.

If you click the Install provider integration link before installing Visual Studio, a command shell window appears and displays the following error message:

The code base does not exist.

To integrate the data provider help files into Visual Studio

The Help Setup Wizard integrates the online help for the data providers into Visual Studio. The steps in the Wizard are similar for Visual Studio 2015 and Visual Studio 2017. The following procedure shows the steps in Visual Studio 2015:

1. Close Visual Studio if it is open.

2. Select the Administration Tool icon from the Progress DataDirect Connect for ADO.NET 4.3 program group.

3. Select the Visual Studio Integration tab, then click the Visual Studio Help Integration link.

4. Click Next. The Select Installation Folder window appears.

   This window allows you to change the installation directory from the default location, and specify who can use the help you are installing. This step is optional.

   • To change the installation directory, click Browse... and select the new installation directory path. Then, click OK to return to the Browse for Installation Directory window.

   • To check the disk space available on the target drive, click Disk Cost... and select the disk that you want to use from the HelpSetup13 Disk Space window. Then, click OK to close the window and return to the Select Installation Folder window.

   • To allow anyone who uses the computer to use this utility, select Everyone.

     Note: If the data providers are already integrated into Visual Studio 2015, the Wizard asks if you want to repair or remove HelpSetup15. Select the appropriate radio button and click Finish, and then click Close to close the Wizard.

5. Click Next. The Confirm Installation window appears.

6. Click Next. The help files are integrated into Visual Studio 2015. This process takes several minutes.

7. Click Close. The help files are available through the Contents tab.

8. Open the Visual Studio 2015 help, and select Progress DataDirect from the Filtered by drop-down list.

Processor Information Utility

Progress customer support may, on occasion, ask that you use the Processor Information Utility to identify the type of license you need.

From the DataDirect Connect for ADO.NET 4.3 program group, select Processor Information Utility. The tool automatically determines the number and type of processors in your machine and displays the information in a command shell window. The message also includes the type of license required for your Progress DataDirect product. Provide this information to Progress DataDirect customer support when requested.