dbFront.com - Recent questions

Include a MCP Server

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 12:32:29 +0000

With the massive increase in AI recently, it would be good if dbFront had a MCP Server which AI models can access.

This would allow AI such as copilot (used by a lot of businesses), chatgpt, gemini etc to access information in dbfront.

https://modelcontextprotocol.io/docs/2026-07-28/getting-started/intro

Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Vulnerability in dbFront

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 01:06:37 +0000

Title: Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Vulnerability in dbFront
Type: Vulnerability Type: XSS (Cross Site Scripting) / CWE-80

Description:

A Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability was identified in dbFront, where user-controlled input was not properly escaped when used in certain error messages. This allows the injection of arbitrary JavaScript code into those specific messages.

More details will be provided after affected clients have had time to upgrade.

Impact:

An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to trick a user into executing arbitrary JavaScript in the context of the affected application, potentially leading to session hijacking, phishing attacks, or other client-side impacts.

This is a reflected, not a stored vulnerability, only available to authenticated users.

Affected Versions: dbFront versions before 1.4.1.1263.

Fixed Versions:

This issue has been addressed in:

dbFront 1.4.1.1331 through corrected encoding.
all versions of dbFront 1.4.2 through corrected encoding and enhanced security controls.

Mitigation: Users are advised to upgrade to the latest version of dbFront, either 1.4.1 or 1.4.2.

Credits: Discovered and reported by Carlos de la Fuente (Novita) as part of our bug bounty.

Remove "On Hover" over your name (Top Right)

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 15:07:19 +0000

When you hover over your name (top right) it drops down a menu showing:

Profile
Login Details
Log Off

This is just a few pixels above the "Search" in the top right, and obscures the search box.

It would be good if this hover was changed to an "On Click", this way it doesnt get in the way if you oveshoot the search box using your mouse.

Illegal mix of collations for operation... MariaDB

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 16:41:37 +0000

In a database where all collations are consistent, I get the following error.

Error: The field 'Row Filter' is invalid. Illegal mix of collations for operation 'in' ...

How should I resolve this error?

Set a SSO Admin per Database connection

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 14:11:35 +0000

Per Connection you can setup SSO Groups for Read and Read / Write. Wanting the ability to have a 3rd group for Per Connection Admin. This would would give that person dbfront admin access for that particular connection. Allow them to change table views, visiblity of tables, etc but only for that one particular connection.

I thought this might be what "Admin Access" does in the connection access tab, but with SSO enabled this just returns a "none selected" and enabling graph API permissions still does not return any security groups to this option.

User Help on table-only fields

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 16:39:12 +0000

Currently, User Help is only accessible for a field if it is on the form. It would be nice if fields that are only set to show in the table had access to the User Help as well. Perhaps with a help icon in the column header.

Is a distributed install really 100 times more secure?

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 22:29:48 +0000

A distributed dbFront install is where the Web Application is installed in the DMZ and the Application Service is installed inside the secure network near the Database and Authentication servers. See: Distributed Install

The Installation Overview page claims that a Distributed Install can be 100 more secure than a single server install. How is that?

How to Disable Specific Protocols in dbFront

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 19:45:39 +0000

In order to satisfy a security scan we need to disable the use of TLS 1.1 by dbFront. How do we do this?

Preserve Quick Search on refresh

Sat, 07 Feb 2026 03:39:27 +0000

Unlike Advanced Search, Quick Searches are cleared on page refresh. It would be nice if there was an option for it to be preserved, so the user sees the same filtered table view on refresh.

This came up when working with ProcedureAPI and the Close action. I want to force a screen refresh so users see up-to-date data after the procedure runs, but users have complained that clears the search.

Quick Search Across Multiple Tables

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 14:29:25 +0000

Sometimes users don't have a clue what they are looking for (e.g. a reference which could be in multiple tables).

It would be good if there was a page which allowed selection of tables and performed a "quick search" on each of those tables, and returned each individual table of data.

Clicking on the record, would then redirect the page as per this feature request: https://dbfront.com/qa/1477/separate-record-view-instead-of-showing-table

As a lot of our image upload/sharing platforms are blocked in the UK, here's a nice Image representation:

| Search Box |
__

| Table 1 results |
____
____
| Table 2 results |
____
____
| Table 3 results |
____

Separate "Record View" instead of Showing Table

Tue, 03 Feb 2026 00:55:58 +0000

Currently when searching for an item, then choosing a record, the options are quite limited (record next to table, or record below table).

It would be good if when choosing a record on the list, it takes you a dedicated page showing the record details, but no table. This would give more real estate for showing various tabs. It would also vastly reduce confusion from users.

(Think of any website where you're looking for products - you have a product list, then jump to the product page, which shows the product and a list of attributes. You dont still see your "search list" when looking at the details page).

It could also solve the issue where if the user has to jump through lots of records to get to the data which they want to view.

e.g.

a simple structure, where an Item has an Item Vendors and an "Item Vendor History"
Item > "Item Vendor" > "Item Vendor History"

Current Navigation:
- Table View with Items - Search for Item and Select
- Identify Vendor in list, click on record.
- Click on Open Record in top right-hand corner to open "Item Vendor" record (with table list of "Item Vendors" which is confusing to users as they picked a specific record.)
- Navigate tabs underneath to view details.

Simplified Navigation:

Table View with Items - Search for Item and Select
Redirect to new page, without List View. Product details at top, with tabs underneath.
In Vendor tab, select row
Redirect to new page, without List View. Item Vendor details at top, with tabs underneath
View details in tab underneath.

Screen refreshing on save

Fri, 14 Nov 2025 17:39:13 +0000

I have a table that is triggering a full screen/browser refresh whenever a row is inserted or saved, with a popup "Row Saved" dialog. This does not appear to be happening on any other table on this database connection - normally it just refreshes the table and form with a Row Saved notification in the top right of the form.
What might cause this different behavior?

How to Analyze Slow Table Loading Performance Issues

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 14:20:08 +0000

Some of my tables load very slowly once I add table views. How can I investigate the performance and figure out where the issue is?

How to debug an IIS FailFast error that is causing dbFront to crash?

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 13:39:45 +0000

The dbFront web application fails, and when I look in the eventlog it shows the following two eventlog entries:

EventLog Entry 1

Application: w3wp.exe
Framework Version: v4.0.30319
Description: The application requested process termination through System.Environment.FailFast(string message).
Message:
Stack:
at System.Environment.FailFast(System.String)
at .‮‏⁯‎‮⁯‌‬‏⁬⁪⁭⁭⁭‫⁮⁭⁪⁫⁭⁬‫‌⁯⁮‬‍‭⁮⁭⁮‌‪‬⁭‬⁬⁬‮()
at ..cctor()
at System.RuntimeTypeHandle.CreateInstance(System.RuntimeType, Boolean, Boolean, Boolean ByRef, System.RuntimeMethodHandleInternal ByRef, Boolean ByRef)
at System.RuntimeType.CreateInstanceSlow(Boolean, Boolean, Boolean, System.Threading.StackCrawlMark ByRef)
at System.RuntimeType.CreateInstanceDefaultCtor(Boolean, Boolean, Boolean, System.Threading.StackCrawlMark ByRef)
at System.Activator.CreateInstance(System.Type, Boolean)

EventLog Entry 2

Faulting application name: w3wp.exe, version: 10.0.17763.1, time stamp: 0xa7ccada2
Faulting module name: unknown, version: 0.0.0.0, time stamp: 0x00000000
Exception code: 0x80131623
Fault offset: 0x263668d2
Faulting process id: 0x2338
Faulting application start time: 0x01dc0d50b3aaa70e
Faulting application path: C:\Windows\SysWOW64\inetsrv\w3wp.exe
Faulting module path: unknown
Report Id: ab6204e7-6324-441a-b1fc-5ab9d78205a9
Faulting package full name:
Faulting package-relative application ID:

DynaTrace OneAgent causing dbFront WebApp failure with FastFail

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 02:02:04 +0000

The dbFront web application is being shut down hard by DynaTrace OneAgent. The application fails with a FastFail. Debugged using instructions at Debugging IIS FastFail

The eventlog appears to point to w3wp.exe terminating on a FastFail. Triggering a memory dump using WER and examining the content shows that the w3wp.exe process called into dbFront.dll!Unknown.. and was terminated with a FastFail. The final portion of the faulting thread is below.

clr!SystemNative::GenericFailFast+156
clr!SystemNative::FailFast+8e
0x263a68d2 <= Unknown
0x263a04a9 <= Unknown
clr!CallDescrWorkerInternal+34
clr!CallDescrWorkerWithHandler+6b

There was no indication on the server that DynaTrace OneAgent was involved. The only clue was that it was recently updated. Once we uninstalled DynaTrace then the issue was resolved.

Add caption to active number/date search field widgets

Thu, 20 Feb 2025 21:20:34 +0000

Currently when activating an Advanced Search field that is text or boolean, the field caption is displayed in the Advanced Search bar along with the filter values.

However this does not appear to be the case for date or numeric fields, where only the filter value is shown. This can get confusing, especially if filtering on multiple fields.
It would be nice for the caption to show for all field types.

Example from demo site:
https://i.imgur.com/u5g0xXW.png

Allow multiple pipe-separated CSS classes in all areas

Wed, 22 Jan 2025 16:01:35 +0000

After a bit of searching, I found in the release history that multiple pipe-separated CSS class names can be specified for conditional row styling: https://dbfront.com/releasehistory#v1.2.0.0343
(side note: this info is missing from the help page on the feature: https://dbfront.com/table-row-styling)

This works great and currently only appears to apply for table row styling.
It would be convenient to have this feature in all areas of dbFront wherever a custom CSS class can be specified.

Unable to find where to set "Database Authentication"

Tue, 21 Jan 2025 21:17:50 +0000

Hi,
I've used dbFront for a long time, and I've bought the pro version to be able to connect another DB using different users.
It seems that the documentation reported here (https://dbfront.com/connectionaccess) is not up-to-date, as those screens are unavailable on actual 1.4.0.0664 version. I can't find the place where I can enable the Database Authentication on the single connection, while the old connection seems to work smoothly. I've found something interesting in the ConnectionConfig of the old one, like

 <AuthType>DatabaseAuthentication</AuthType>
  <AuthDatabase>XXXXXXX</AuthDatabase>
  <AuthFunction>XXXXXXX</AuthFunction>
  <AdminUserList>
    <string>administrator</string>
  </AdminUserList>
  <UpdateUserList />
  <ReadOnlyUserList />
  <DeniedUserList />

that are not present in the ConnectionConfig of the new one. But even adding those data to the new connection, I'm unable to authenticate with a user present in the new DB (the SP is present in the new DB and AuthDatabase has been changed concordly).
Can you please help me please? Thanks!

I added fields to the table but can't find them in dbFront

Wed, 11 Dec 2024 18:20:37 +0000

I have a table with new fields in it, but I can't see the new fields in dbFront.

The fields are not available for selection as Grid or Form fields when I open the table properties.

How to find duplicate records

Tue, 03 Dec 2024 14:46:30 +0000

Is there any way to filter to show duplicates in a specific column?

Enable SSO and User Authentication at the same time

Wed, 27 Nov 2024 16:13:09 +0000

We have users who want to access the database but who are not part of our SSO.

What are the options?

How can I can I use dbFront to connect to a SAAS service that uses OAuth?

Tue, 19 Nov 2024 21:25:59 +0000

Many external services require OAuth authentication to enable account access. How can I manage that with dbFront?

Single File Automated Backup

Tue, 12 Nov 2024 18:33:37 +0000

dbFront already automatically creates and maintains backups of each database's configuration.

It would be handy if dbFront could capture and backup all of the bits and pieces for each database connection & application including the custom CSS files, Icons, Report Templates and anything else that might be easily missed.

The backup should also include all server configuration stuff, SSO details and more.

The idea is a single file zip file that could be migrated to another machine and restored.

This would be great for server migrations or creating distributable application packages.

How do I upgrade my license?

Sat, 05 Oct 2024 03:25:48 +0000

I see that there is a new 1.3 and a beta 1.4 version of dbfront. When I install it, I'm told my current license doesn't support that version. How to I upgrade my license? I don't see a way and I'm sure I'm just missing something.

Ability to position the Advanced Search above the table

Fri, 04 Oct 2024 18:13:13 +0000

I want to simplify things for the user direct them to filter down the database first.

To facilitate that I want to position the search above the table.

How can I move the form buttons below the form

Wed, 02 Oct 2024 19:29:57 +0000

I would like to move the buttons below the form to make it cleaner for my users.

Dynamically Refresh Stored Procedure Results

Wed, 02 Oct 2024 17:49:47 +0000

It would be very useful if the results of a stored procedure could automatically refresh themselves as a process completes on the database.

Two of many use cases are:

You are monitoring an external process and monitoring a log table.
You are monitoring one or more processes that are using the SQL Server Service Broker to execute Asyncronously.

Parse Browser Query String parameter for stored procedure

Wed, 14 Aug 2024 17:13:32 +0000

I need to pass information from one screen to another and have a RunProcedure call on the second screen use that information.

I plan to add a query special parameter from the OpenURL call but then need to capture that parameter and pass it to a procedure on the second screen.

Add If-Contains visibility expression

Wed, 14 Aug 2024 16:21:54 +0000

The "If In List" expression works when I want to check if a value from the current record is in a list. But I want to check the opposite direction. I want to check if a field from the current record contains the specified value.

Prepare Form Data Before Load

Mon, 29 Jul 2024 13:41:08 +0000

I need to do just-in-time preparation of the Form Data before it is loaded and visible to the user.

The issue is that I need to pull in data from a separate system so that the data will be relevant.

I know I can setup a background process on the database server to ensure that the data is always ready for presentation but that would create a pile of work and data churn on the server for data that would rarely be seen. Additionally, there is the risk that it wouldn't be current.

Views can't trigger processing.

Is it possible to call a stored procedure to prepare the data just before the main form is loaded?

Pass advanced search criteria in URL

Thu, 04 Jul 2024 17:27:14 +0000

I've successfully set up dbFront as a webpage in Tableau so my end users can make updates to the backend data as needed. I'm trying to figure out a way to have selected data in Tableau be passed along in the URL as an advanced search rather than a quick search as described in https://dbfront.com/deeplinking. Most of the time when the data needs to be updated a Mass Update is the preferred method but when using quick search that functionally is not available.

For example looking at pricing for a specific type of product in Tableau and I want to update the price for all bikes. So I would use a Tableau action to pass along the URL (https://server/dbfront/default.aspx?k=nb8mwbiw4ugt16dqednrrh4o1a&t=zsm7uhsmmdmeztczu9t4zeu81o&s=Bike) and filter the results to just bikes and mass update the price from there.

Table-view record truncation

Fri, 28 Jun 2024 16:33:57 +0000

I noticed that when a column is set as a Sticky Column, the data can get truncated with an ellipsis if it's too long (unknown what the parameters are, but it appears to be more aggressive than non-sticky column truncation)
E.g.:
https://i.postimg.cc/wBTNPkPQ/0iEugho.png

This presents a problem in Table-only layout, where there's no form to see the full data.
If a record is truncated, it would be nice to have a way to show the full data in a tooltip or something.

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/31669939/clip-long-text-inside-html-table-cells-show-entire-content-on-hover

Have table open with advanced search already expanded

Fri, 14 Jun 2024 16:07:52 +0000

Sometimes, we have tables setup that are only used by users to search for data - so we use the "Table Only" layout option. It would be nice if we could have the ability on tables to have each pane open expanded or closed. As in, allow Details to open expanded or closed, form to open expanded or closed, advanced search to open expanded or closed, etc. Would be a nice bit of extra customization.

Ability to search integer datatypes for exact value (non-ranged)

Fri, 14 Jun 2024 16:07:34 +0000

Currently, in advanced search integer and date data types require you to enter a range of values. It would be nice if both of these would be able to be modified to allow you to input a single search value rather than a ranged search value.

Show Images in the Table Grid instead of Checkmarks

Wed, 12 Jun 2024 23:22:27 +0000

Our users would like to see the image or a thumbnail in the table grid instead of the checkbox which indicates that there is an image.

Deep link to PDF/Binary file

Fri, 31 May 2024 00:47:06 +0000

Is there any way to deep link to a PDF/binary file, directly to the file preview page (or download)?

i.e. the page with the URL formatted like:

.../Data.ashx?action=getAttachment&pa=2&rt=[LongMysteryString]&t=Pdf

For example, we now have a process in dbFront where users can request certain documents which they can't generate themselves, but need to be generated by a manager. Thanks to the new WebRequest functionality, this can now all be done directly in dbFront. The manager generates the requested file(s) which save to a child table, and marks the request as complete, which triggers an email notification to the requester. Currently the email contains a link to the request record in dbFront. It would be nice to include links directly to the files, essentially "attaching" the PDF files to the email, so they can click the link and it opens the PDF viewer page in a browser, or downloads the file.

How to format the Stored Procedure Results

Sat, 20 Apr 2024 19:05:44 +0000

How can I format the stored procedure results returned when I use the RunProcedure action to return one or more tables in a dialog. Sometimes the results explode beyond the screen?

Can results be returned in multiple files instead of concatenating to a single file?

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 17:28:29 +0000

Enable Data Cleanup by Recognizing Disabled/NoCheck Relationships or Constraints

Fri, 22 Mar 2024 15:29:51 +0000

It is possible to create Disabled or Unchecked relationships. This often happens when converting structures or uploading data from external systems.

A big source is tables and relationships that were created by the Microsoft Upsizing Wizard or its replacement Microsoft SQL Server Migration Assistant. This is because Microsoft Access allows for the creation and use of relationships that are not checked. This also shows up when users have dropdowns/combo-boxes that allow users to select or create their own values.

This can create a massive headache for data cleanup. How can dbFront be used to help with Data Cleanup.

How can I make dbFront available on the Internet

Tue, 05 Mar 2024 16:11:28 +0000

I have a home computer and I want allow other people to access my dbFront install.

What should I do?

Error: There is already an open DataReader associated with this Connection which must be closed first.

Wed, 07 Feb 2024 15:27:42 +0000

I have this stored procedure button that ran once just fine, but now I get the below error when I try to run it. I tried restarting the dbFront service but it's still occurring.

Error: Can't run customProcedureName(), There is already an open DataReader associated with this Command which must be closed first.

What does this error mean and how can I fix it.

Show Field Preferences gear in table headers

Wed, 07 Feb 2024 14:51:45 +0000

One for the "not really needed but nice to have" pile - Render a Field Preferences gear in the table column headers, in addition to the form fields. Currently, changing settings on a table-only field requires you to add it back to the form, change settings, then remove from form.

Ability to Receive PDF Submit Requests

Thu, 01 Feb 2024 16:04:56 +0000

I don't know how well this works but since dbFront can already populate, export and import PDF files, it would be super handy if dbFront could simply accept PDF Post requests as well.

The process I am imagining is:

Create a custom PDF template with an embedded submit button using OpenOffice or Adobe,
In dbFront, populate the PDF Form and lock certain key fields with client specific data/keys,
Email the prepopulated PDF Form to a client/vendor for them to complete,
The client/vendor fills in the PDF Form using a tool of their choice and simply hits the imbedded submit button.
dbFront receives the request and loads the data running a validation procedure/trigger and starts the workflow.
Office staff see the new data in their Todo List the next morning.

The link I am thinking of is Send PDF data to URL

That would make data collection so much more efficient. If the submit button in the PDF did not work then the client could simply email the completed PDF back and we could import it into dbFront using dbFront's import functionality.

How to perform a Mail Merge in dbFront

Wed, 31 Jan 2024 17:34:46 +0000

We need to select a specific group of records and create a mail merge using a template report.

Ability to RECEIVE and process GET/REDIRECT requests

Tue, 16 Jan 2024 23:07:18 +0000

This might seem out of scope for dbFront but the purpose would be to enable more complex integrations.

This might be for already authenticated users who are being redirected back to dbFront after some external processing by a 3rd party. e.g. Payment Provider or Authentication.
This could be for non-authenticated or anonymous links that perform a special lookup, security check or processing before allowing custom access.

The idea is to enable the crafting of a special URL that is processed by a stored procedure with the stored procedure returning a redirect URL after processing.

The procedure would be responsible for any validation and security.

The Service and UI versions of dbFront don't match!

Mon, 08 Jan 2024 14:56:21 +0000

After updating dbFront I get the following error:

The Service [1.2.6.7932] and UI [1.2.6.7021] versions of dbFront
   don't match!

What is causing this error and what can I do about it. My dbFront install is down?

Option to add new lookup record from dropdown

Mon, 11 Dec 2023 23:18:49 +0000

I have a version table that is linked to a request table that allows the user to select the version a request was added to. I want to know if there is a way, from the drop down in the request form that shows the version, to add a new version number without having to go to the version table in the lookup tables to add it first. I hope that makes sense.

Transaction Isolation Level

Wed, 29 Nov 2023 18:22:49 +0000

Could it be possible to set the default transaction isolation level for accessing the SQL database?

In some cases, especially with large tables and lots of transactions going on, it would be beneficial to be able to set this to improve performance / reduce locking.

e.g.

SET TRANSACTION ISOLATION LEVEL READ UNCOMMITTED

Obviously in some occasions this would prevent users from updating records (e.g. was part way through an uncommitted transaction in another session, and the changes rolled back), or cause data inconsistency issues, however it would depend on how the user is accessing the data and what they are using dbfront for. (Heavy read systems would benefit, business critical read-write would not).

Theme switcher for one database

Mon, 23 Oct 2023 15:42:26 +0000

It looks like if there's no theme set in the global server settings, a theme switcher shows in the footer.
Is there any way to enable the switcher for a single database connection? Setting the database's theme to None doesn't seem to do it.

Swap view name

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 20:09:50 +0000

I have a view attached to my table that I would like to rename. I copied the view and gave it a new name. Is there any way to update the dbfront config to just switch out the old view name with the new, so I don't have to re-add all the fields?

I tried updating :

  <TableViews>
    <string>[ViewName]</string>
  </TableViews>

in:

C:\data\dbfront\data\[ConnectionKey]\[TableKey]_TableConfig.configdata

but that doesn't seem to take.