When you create a SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services (SSAS), a Microsoft Office or Windows SharePoint list, or SQL Server Table data source element in PerformancePoint Dashboard Designer, you must also configure a connection to the server for the data source.

• Configure a connection for a multidimensional SSAS data source

• Configure a connection to a SharePoint data source

• Configure a connection to a SQL Server Table data source

• See next steps

Configure a connection for a multidimensional SSAS data source

 Note   If your SSAS data includes International Standard Book Numbers (ISBN), initial zeroes will be dropped from the nunbers when the data becomes a data source for Dashboard Designer. This can be a problem if your data includes information about books.

1. Click the Editor tab in the workspace, and then decide whether to use a standard connection or to specify a specific connection string.
2. To use a standard connection, take the following steps:
   1. Select the Use Standard Connection option.
   2. Type the complete path for the server to which you want to connect. This populates the options in the Database list.
   3. In the Database box, select a database name.
   4. (Optional) In the Roles box, type the name of the role, such as an administrator or database role from SSAS. To specify multiple roles, type the names of the roles and separate them by commas.
3. To stipulate a specific connection string, take the following steps:
   1. Select Use the following connection.
   2. Type a connection string for the server and database to which you want to connect.

       Note   Make sure that you do not enter private information such as a user name and password in the connection string.

   3. From the Data Source drop-down list, select the specific cube that you want to use as the data source in the database.
   4. (Optional) In the Cache Settings section, in the Interval text box, type the refresh rate (in minutes) for the cache. Data from this data source will update at this interval.
4. Click Test Connection to confirm that the connection is correctly configured.
5. Click the Home tab, and then click Publish All.

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Configure a connection to a SharePoint data source

1. Click the Editor tab in the workspace, and, in the text box, type the URL for the Windows SharePoint or Microsoft Office SharePoint site.
2. From the SharePoint Site List, select the List Site that you want to use.
3. From the drop-down list, select the specific data list that you want to use as the data source.
4. (Optional) In the Cache Settings section, in the Interval text box, type the refresh rate (in minutes) for the cache. Data from this data source will update at this interval.
5. Click Test Connection to confirm that the connection is correctly configured.
6. Click the Home tab, and then click Publish All.

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Configure a connection to a SQL Server Table data source

1. Click the Editor tab in the workspace, and then decide whether to use a standard connection or to specify a connection string.
2. 1. If you select the Use Standard Connection option, type the name of the server where the SQL Server data resides, and then select the database name.
   2. If you select Use the following connection option, type a connection string to the server and then select the table.
3. From the Tables drop-down list, select the tables that you want to include in your data source.
4. In the Cache Settings section, in the Interval text box, type the refresh rate (in minutes) for the cache. Data from this data source will update at this interval.
5. Click Test Connection to confirm that the connection is correctly configured.
6. Click the Home tab, and then click Publish All.

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See next steps

The procedures that are presented in this topic are part of the process that is required to create and configure a data source in Dashboard Designer. The following list contains links to more information about creating and configuring a data source.

See all the steps that are required to create a data source

Configure general properties for a data source

Configure data column properties for a tabular data source

Configure time and aggregation settings

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