Options Utility

Use the Options utility for configuring the SQL Option client-side software and its connectivity with XDB and DB2 database servers.

The settings that you can change fall into the following categories:

• Connect

  For configuring the connection between a client application (for example, SQL Wizard or a program that you have developed) and the XDB or DB2 database that it uses.

• Paths

  For specifying where SQL Wizard and other SQL Option files are to be found or written.

• Format

  For specifying formats for dates, times and numeric fields.

• Multi-user

  For specifying options for a multi-user XDB Server in a networked environment. For example, you can control isolation levels and autocommit.

• Browser

  For specifying which database objects are shown in the Catalog Browser window.

• Query

  For specifying default options for working with queries. For example, you can specify whether unqualified table-names can be used and whether Cartesian products are permitted. These options can be overridden for a particular query when you are editing the query.

• Query run

  For specifying options for running queries with SQL Wizard. For example, you can control whether the result is displayed in table or form view and limit the number of rows returned.

• SQL

  For specifying defaults for various SQL operational parameters, including compatibility and sort sequence. For example, you can set DB2 or SQL/DS compatibility and whether to use ASCII or EBCDIC sort sequences. You can also set the escape character and SysAuthID.

• Security

  For specifying security options. You can switch on client security (required if you want to use an XDB Server that has security switched on), as well as controlling the enforcement criteria for user passwords.

The Options utility has a Summary page that enables you to obtain a list of all the current configuration settings. You cannot make changes to any of the options from the Summary tab but you can print it for reference purposes.

To access the Options utility from the main menu, > Configuration > Client Options.

The Options window is made up of several pages, each labeled with a tab. To view or change information on a particular page, click its tab.

The options that you select are stored in the xdb.ini file.

To ensure backward compatibility, the settings are also written to the config.xdb file. These files are usually found in your configuration directory. For more information about xdb.ini, see xdb.ini File Structure.

Along the left edge of the window is a set of general-purpose buttons. Depending upon which tab you are working in, some or all of these buttons will be available to you.