Depending on your application, a data link can be saved with the application itself or as a separate file with a .mdl extension.
If your application saves and manages your data links, then your application will prompt you for a connection string as needed through the Data Link Properties dialog box.
If your application supports .mdl files, use the Create New Data Link wizard to build a connection string and save it to a data link (.mdl) file. Although your application will prompt you to create a .mdl file as needed, you can also create a data link from Windows Explorer.
To create a data link (.mdl) file from Windows Explorer
See Also