Create a new PostGIS connection

To create a new PostGIS Connection, you need to know the host, port, and your user name/password for the database server.

Required Parameters

Name - a descriptive name for this connection
Host - the host name of the database server (eg. madison.qgis.org)
Database - name of the database to connect to
Port - port that PostgreSQL is listening on. By default this is 5432. If in doubt, check with your database administrator.
Username - your database user name
Password - your database password

Options

Save Password - save your password so you don't have to enter each time. The password is stored in clear text with your QGIS preferences.
Only look in the geometry_columns table - normally QGIS examines every table in the database to see if it has a geometry column and if so, adds it to the list of layers. Checking this box tells QGIS to only list layer that have been "registered" and have an entry in the geometry_columns table.
Only look in the 'public' schema - this limits the search for layers to the public schema

Testing the Connection

Clicking on the Test Connection button initiates a connect attempt to the database using the parameters you specified. This is a good way to check the connection parameters prior to saving the connection.