# Connect to a Data Source

This topic explains how to connect a section report to a data source at design time through the Report Data Source dialog.

## Content



At design time, you can connect a section report to a data source through the **Report Data Source** dialog. This topic describes the steps to connect to a data source in a section report.

## Add a Data Source

Use the following steps to add a new data source in your report.

1.  In the designer, you can access the **Report Data Source** dialog by doing one of the following:
    *   On the detail section band, click the **Data Source** icon.<br />![Data Source Icon](https://cdn.mescius.io/document-site-files/images/b298aea2-8cb8-4a0f-be88-4f54aa263ebd/images/bind-reports/sectionreport-bindmethod1.png)
    *   Click the gray area around the design surface and select the **Edit Data Source** link in the Properties pane.
2.  In the **Report Data Source** dialog box that appears, there are separate tabs for each data source. For example,
    
    *   [OLEDB](/activereportsnet/docs/v19.2/report-authors/data-binding/data-binding-in-section-reports/connect-to-a-datasource-section/oledb-provider-section)
    *   [ODBC](/activereportsnet/docs/v19.2/report-authors/data-binding/data-binding-in-section-reports/connect-to-a-datasource-section/odbc-provider-section)
    *   [SQL](/activereportsnet/docs/v19.2/report-authors/data-binding/data-binding-in-section-reports/connect-to-a-datasource-section/sql-provider-section)
    *   [XML](/activereportsnet/docs/v19.2/report-authors/data-binding/data-binding-in-section-reports/connect-to-a-datasource-section/xml-data-provider-section)
    *   [CSV](/activereportsnet/docs/v19.2/report-authors/data-binding/data-binding-in-section-reports/connect-to-a-datasource-section/csv-data-source-section)
    *   JSON
    *   Unbound
    
    ![Report Data Source Dialog Box](https://cdn.mescius.io/document-site-files/images/b298aea2-8cb8-4a0f-be88-4f54aa263ebd/images/bind-reports/report-datasource-dialog-section.png)
3.  Each tab displays different options/settings to configure the data source connection.
4.  Enter the configuration details for the data source connection.
5.  Click the **OK** button on the lower right corner to close the dialog. You have successfully connected the report to a data source.

### Custom Data Providers

You can also implement some custom data providers such as SQLite, by manually setting up the dependencies and configuration file. See [Bound Data](https://github.com/activereports/Samples19/tree/main/DataBinding/Section/BoundData) sample for complete implementation and [Configure ActiveReports using Config File](/activereportsnet/docs/v19.2/devops/customization/configure-ar) topic for information on setting up the configuration file.