First, log into the phpMyAdmin page using your MySQL Database username and password. Then on the left side of the phpMyAdmin page, click on your database name. On the right side (the main page) you'll find tabs at the top which will allow you to access and manage your database.

Structure Tab:

This displays your tables, allows you to browse, search, insert, edit table properties, delete (drop) table, or empty the data contained in the table. You can click on a check box next to one or more tables (or click the link to check all, and select an action from the drop down box, such as drop, empty, print view, or you can check, optimize, repair or analyse the selected table(s).

You can create a new table by clicking on your database name on the left, and then filling in the table name and how many fields you want it to have. For more information on creating database tables, see the MySQL Documentation.

You can use this space to type in MySQL queries to manage your database. Here you can also upload a pre-made database from your hard drive into your Active Web Hosting database. This is useful if you have created your own database before hand or wish to upload a backup.

Here is where you can back up your database and save it to your hard drive on your computer. Keeping backups of databases is a good idea, particularly if you have a lot of daily data flow such as with a forum or user accounts.

Usually the defaults are enough to provide you with a complete backup of your database. Scroll down to Save as file and be sure that is checked. Next check what compression you want to use: none (straight ASCII text ready for importing into phpMyAdmin via the SQL tab later), zipped (.zip file for Windows systems) or gzipped (.gz file for Linux systems). If you have a relatively large database, you might want to use the zipped or gzipped format to cut down on download time. Click the Go button when ready to download.

This lets you search for records in the database. You can also search for words or values inside any specific table by choosing a table in the listbox.

This lets you perform advanced queries on your database, including inserting or deleting data into specific fields.

Use this to delete your whole database (including erasing all tables and data contained in those tables). This cannot be undone so use this with care!

To log out at any time, click on the Home link on the left and then in the main page under MySQL, click Log Out.

• phpMyAdmin Documentation
• MySQL Documentation