# Connecting to a Server

If you did not select the Auto-Connection option when defining a connection profile, you can manually connect to a server.

1. Open the Data Source Explorer.
2. Expand the connection profile category for the server you want to start.
3. Right-click the server and select Connect.
4. Click Details to view errors.

Related concepts
Connection Profiles
Related tasks
Creating a Connection Profile
Connecting to a Database
Related reference
Database Connection Profiles