"Your first step is to choose a database with which to work. You
have three choices, but what they are is obscured slightly by the
wording and order of choices in the wizard:
"* Create a new database: Make a new database in Base's native
HSQL format
* Open an existing database file: Edit a Base database that is
already created.
* Connect to an existing database: Make a new database in one of
the other formats supported by Base. Besides formats such as MySQL
and Oracle, Base also supports several other formats on the free
desktop, including Mozilla, Evolution, and KDE address books.
Another option is to choose an OpenOffice.org or MS Excel
spreadsheet, which is useful for when you want to explore Base
quickly or when you want to convert a growing spreadsheet into a
database.
"What happens on the next page of the wizard depends on your
choice. If you are creating a new database, you are asked if you
want to register it so that you can use data from it in other
OpenOffice applications (a subject for another article). Since this
option has no drawbacks and is convenient, usually there is no
reason not to register the new database."
