This documentation refers to PhraseExpress v16 beta. The documentation for current v15 is available here.
SQL Server
PhraseExpress supports Microsoft SQL Server connections to share phrases with a client-/server architecture in professional/enterprise networks.
Features
Using a SQL server has follwowing benefits compared to a serverless use:
- All clients are always up-to-date at any given time.
- SQL servers are designed to handle a large number of clients and large databases.
- Multiple users can edit the phrase database simultaneously.
- The client-/server architecture prevents write collisions and version conflicts.
- Clients load the phrase contents on demand in the moment of text insertion to minimize memory consumption on the local clients.
- The phrase database is centrally stored and can be included in your existing SQL backup mechanism.
- License keys are centrally managed.
- You can define "master users" with extra credentials. Those have general access to all phrases and can centrally configure client program settings of all users.
- Each user can have a personal phrase folder to store their personal phrases.
- Also works over the internet if using a Amazon/Azure SQL cloud server.
Limitations
- PhraseExpress is very easy-to-use with a SQL Server, but setup in customized system environments may require advanced IT skills. We kindly ask for your understanding, that installation support in such case is not free-of-charge. If you are overwhelmed, please consider using PhraseExpress with cloud sharing which is easy to setup.
- Phrases are inserted with a small delay as the content is dynamically loaded from the SQL server over the network connection. If the SQL server is accessed through VPN or if using a cloud based Azure or Amazon AWS SQL server, there can be extra lag due to the slower internet transmission. For timing-critical applications such as spelling correction text replacements, PhraseExpress clients can be configured to load the entire SQL database upfront on startup. Alternatively, you can use a separate additional local phrase file for all phrases, that is loaded into the fast local memory for instant insertion.
- The SQL database is not available if the network connection is interrupted. However, you can cache the SQL phrase database on your device with a single click.
- PhraseExpress for iOS cannot access a SQL server due to Apple's App restrictions. Please use cloud sharing for Apple devices.