| Name | Defines the name of the search group. |
| Use custom handler | Select this option to use an external data source maintained by an add-in script. |
| Select key colums | Select the columns where the data will be searched from the external datasource. When the Use custom handler option is selected, you need to add at least one column into the list manually in order to make a working database search group which is managed by an add-in script. |
| Add column to the list | Adds a new column into the list. The new column can also be used to retrieve data. |
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Type the column name and click this button to add the column into the Select key columns list. |
| Server | Where the external datasource is located. |
| Catalog | Name of the external datasource. |
| Schema | Database structure. |
| Table | Table that contains the data to be searched. |
| Apply | Applies the selected settings. |
| Quoting identifier | Select the type of character used by the database to mark strings. The type of quotation identifier depends on the type of external data source. |
| [ ] | Square brackets ([ ]) are used with the Microsoft SQL Server and also when the external data source is Microsoft Excel. | |
| " " | Quotation marks (" ") are used with the Oracle SQL Server.
Microsoft SQL Server databases do require Quoting identifier. However, the Quoting identifier setting is required also for the Microsoft SQL Server if empty spaces are used in the database name (value in the Catalog box). |
| Additional search condition | Adds a new condition to the search. |
| Use unicode character set | Uses Unicode character when executing a query in the database. |
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Use an SQL query in the Additional search condition box to define special conditions. |
| Example | Name = 'John' |
| Output | The example condition above returns all the rows from the database which have the value John in the Name column. |
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Use the boolean operators such as AND or OR to add multiple additional conditions. |
| Example | Name = 'John' OR Name='Marcus' |
| Output | The example condition above returns all the rows from the database which have the value John or Marcus in the Name column. |
| Enable updating of linked custom properties when value in the linked database has changed | Synchronizes the custom property value linked with an item in the external datasource.
The Update Conflict dialog box appears if the CustomProperty value has been modified manually and does not correspond to the value of the linked item in the external datasource. |
| Enable automatic linking of custom properties against corresponding database items | Custom properties that have a corresponding value in the external datasource are automatically linked. |
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NOTE: To make options under the Service settings group to work properly, install a server side component called CustomTools ServerService in your CustomTools database server. |