MySQL 

The EZ2000 Dental Plus Dental database is MySQL which is a very robust and reliable database with extensive features and millions of installations worldwide www.mysql.com. The online Reference Manual is available here. The manual is very dry if this is a new area for you, so we will be summarizing the important aspects here. A database is simply a collection of tables (about 211 in this case). The database 'server' runs on one computer and every copy of EZ2000 Plus Dental that connects to it is referred to as a client.  The MySQL connection from the client is created after clicking OK on the Choose Database window.  The User and Password boxes must match a MySQL username and Password.

Overall configuration of MySQL is controlled by the my.ini file on the database server.  Inside of the my.ini file is a data path Variable which is set when MySQL is installed or Upgraded.  The database files themselves will always be located on the same computer where MySQL is installed (not a NAS, for example). 

There are numerous ways to Backup the tables, the easiest being to copy the files when the database is not being used. There are also tools and techniques available for hot backups. Hot backups are preferred when using Innodb. You don't have to shut down EZ2000 Plus Dental to perform a backup, although depending on which technique is used, users might be locked out for a few moments. MySQL also keeps logs of changes to the database and can maintain a slave database which is always an exact copy of the master. If your system crashes, you would not lose any data. Improving the speed and effectiveness of the backup process will continue to be a high priority with each release of the program. There are also tools for improving performance, defragmenting and repairing tables. They all require a degree of skill and will probably be unfamiliar at first. They are not essential, but might come in useful.

The mySQL server will be running as a service on one computer (should be Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Linux). It can be useful to know if mySQL is running. The easiest way to do this is through your management console. Right click on myComputer. Select "manage". EZ2000 Plus  Services and Applications. Open Services. Maximize your window. These are all the programs ('services') that are running in the background without a user interface. mySQL would show as "started".

There are many programs that you can use to directly access the data in your database. EZ2000 Plus Dental comes with a built-in table viewer with special features that make it more useful than some other programs. Another program that can be used is MyCC, a free program provided by MySQL.