The first database that is ever built for a new installation of PHDwin must be created by a System Administrator. If SQL Express is installed locally on your machine, you are most likely the System Administrator and should have no trouble. If you are logging onto another server, not your local machine, make sure that the System Administrator is the first person to create a new database in PHDwin. This is necessary to create a trigger that helps manage PHDwin users.

To Create a New PHDwin Database

1.Double-click on the PHDwin icon on your desktop - This will open the login window.

2.At the top you'll see the User - this is current user logged in to Windows.

3.Choose the server by either typing in the name of the server if you know it (For example: “computerName\SQLInstanceName”) or by viewing the available options in the drop-down menu. If no selections are in the drop-down menu, click on the button to browse for a server/instance of SQL.

Note: If you did a bundled install of PHDwin and SQL Server Express the name of the instance will be "PHDwin." Otherwise, you should select the name of the instance that you installed.

4.You can validate your login by either checking the box to use your Windows Authentication credentials (recommended) or by typing in the SQL Username and Password that was created for you in SQL.

5.If you are logging into an instance of SQL with no PHDwin databases, you can type in the name of your new database next to Database and click Create. If you are logging in to an instance that already has PHDwin databases, choose <New Database> from the dropdown menu next to databases, type in the name and click Create.

PHDwin Database Names

When you create a database through the PHDwin interface, any spaces will be converted to underscores. Also, when you are looking at the database through SQL Server Management Studio, you will see that all databases begin with "Phd_". This is how the application filters the list of available databases that you will see when opening an existing database.

SQL also has a few rules for naming of databases that you should be aware of when creating new PHDwin databases:

•they cannot contain any spaces - if you type a space, it will automatically be converted to an underscore by PHDwin

•they cannot contain any non-alphanumeric characters or symbols such as %,@,#,(,)"

•they should avoid using any SQL reserved words

To Open an Existing Database

1.Double-click on the PHDwin icon on your desktop.

This will open the login window.

2.Choose the server by either typing in the name of the server if you know it (For example: “computerName\SQLInstanceName”) or by viewing the available options in the drop-down menu. If no selections are in the drop-down menu, click on the button to browse for a server/instance of SQL.

Note: If you did not name the instance of SQL when you were installing, the default instance name will just be the name of the server.  

3.Choose the database to open. You can type in the name if you know it or use the drop-down to view all available databases on the server that you selected.

4.Check the box to Use Windows Authentication(recommended) or enter the SQL login credentials(Username and Password) that you or the IT Administrator has set up.  

5.Select Login.

PHDwin Database Names

When you create a database through the PHDwin interface, any spaces will be converted to underscores. Also, when you are looking at the database through SQL Server Management Studio, you will see that all databases begin with "Phd_". This is how the application filters the list of available databases that you will see when opening an existing database.