Sharing Database Connections

When working in a team, chances are you will be using a common set of database connections that is the same for all members of your team. Such connections can be created and managed manually for each user, or you can export and import settings to share them between the team members. A more powerful approach is to use mounted database connection folders.

Connections placed in a mounted connection folder are stored in that location, and anyone who mounts the same folder in DbVisualizer will be able to use the included connections. Changes made to shared connections will be visible to other users, except for attributes that are defined as private and are not shared.

Typical use cases include storing shared connections on a shared network drive, or checking them into a shared Git repository.

Mounting a database connection folder

To add a shared connection folder to DbVisualizer, open the Databases tab and choose Mount Database Connection Folder in the context menu or in the toolbar. Any contained connections will appear under the corresponding node in the Databases tab.

As with normal connections and folders, you can use drag and drop to move the mounted folder in the tree. Note that this will only change the logical presentation and will not actually move the corresponding folder on disk. Similarly, a mounted connection folder can be renamed to give it a more suitable display name.

To unmount a shared connection folder, choose the corresponding action in the context menu after right-clicking on the folder you want to remove.

Creating, changing and removing connections

To add a database connection to a mounted connection folder, either drag an existing connection into the folder or create a new one using the context menu or the toolbar. Shared connections can be reordered, organized into folders, renamed and deleted similarly to normal connections. To unshare a connection, drag it out of the corresponding mounted folder.

The next user to mount this folder will load the same connections, and any changes can be received by refreshing the folder. This can be done by selecting the folder and choosing Refresh Objects Tree in the context menu or in the toolbar.

Integration with Git

Database connections can be shared using Git if the corresponding mounted connection folder is contained within a Git repository. To enable this, the repository needs to be added to the Git tab. To do so, right-click and choose Show in Git. You can also start by mounting the repository in the Git tab first and choosing Show in Databases instead.

When changes are made to connections in a mounted connection folder that is Git-backed, the corresponding changes will be marked in the tree and will also appear in the Git tab. From there, you can publish your changes and fetch incoming updates in the same way as you do with Git-backed scripts.

Shared and private settings

While most of the important database connection settings are shared with other users, there are some that are considered private. Private settings must be manually set up as needed for each user and are stored locally.

The following connection settings are shared with other users:

• Connection tab: Name, Notes, Settings Format, Database Type, Driver Type, Database Server, Database Port, Database URL, Database, Instance, Use SSH Tunnel, SSH Configuration.
• Properties tab: all settings in the Driver Properties section, except those recognized as passwords.

The following settings are private:

• Connection tab: Database Userid, Database Password, Auto Commit, Save Database Password, Permission Mode.
• Properties tab: all settings except Driver Properties that are not recognized as passwords.

Drivers and SSH settings

Drivers and SSH settings are not shared between users. However, a set of requirements that the driver or SSH configuration must adhere to is shared, making the setup seamless in most cases.

While different users have their own independent drivers, all users sharing a connection will use drivers based on the same Template Driver. When a shared connection is added to a user's environment, DbVisualizer will automatically find a matching driver or create a new one if necessary.

As with drivers, SSH configurations are also individual for each user. The values that all users must agree on are Host and Port. When a new shared connection is added, DbVisualizer will attempt to find a matching SSH configuration and use it. If none can be found, the user will have to set up a corresponding configuration to be able to use the connection or update the connection to use a different SSH configuration. In the latter case, the change will be propagated to other users as well.