I am a bit confused about what you are trying to accomplish. I don't see any reason that your connection will not work. But StrataFrame does not use the connection strings in the app.config file. You can pull them from there if you would like, but all connections in SF have to be added to the DataSources collection.MicroFour.StrataFrame.Data.Databasics.DataSource.Add(New SqlDataSourceItem("","Your Connection String"))