Choose Database

This window will come up sometimes when you first start the program. You can also access it from the Main Menu by selecting File | Choose Database

These are the settings that allow your workstation to locate the database. If you are installing DentOffice on multiple computers, this window will come up the first time you run the program on each workstation. Once you enter the necessary information, you won't have to enter it every time.

For Advanced Users

One very interesting feature of DentOffice is that you are allowed to run as many databases on the same computer as you want. You can freely switch between them using the dropdown list of databases. For most users, this many irrelevant since you only have one database. But keep in mind that you can make backups of your database within it's original folder. So, from this screen you could select from a variety of snapshots of your database as it was in the past. You can also switch between your regular database and a backup that you take home on your laptop for read-only purposes. If you run a dental billing company, each doctor client can retain a separate database and you can switch between them very fast.

The data itself is stored as an xml file called FreeDentalConfig.xml in the application directory. If the file is missing or deleted, DentOffice will recreate it the next time it is run. There is no point in trying to make any changes within the actual file. All options are available from this window. This is the only data in the entire program that is not stored in the database for the simple reason that you have not yet established a database connection, so you do not have access to the database.

Starting and stopping the MySQL service should be fairly self explanatory. The concept might be new to many users, but it is really quite simple once you get used to it.