Merge pull request #3457 from mathesar-foundation/docs_updates

Updates to documentation
mathesar-foundation · Feb 28, 2024 · a66821a · a66821a
2 parents ad8180f + 176a57d
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diff --git a/docs/docs/configuration/connect-to-existing-db.md b/docs/docs/configuration/connect-to-existing-db.md
diff --git a/docs/docs/configuration/env-variables.md b/docs/docs/configuration/env-variables.md
@@ -50,6 +50,9 @@ This page contains all available environment variables supported by Mathesar. Se
 
 ## Caddy reverse proxy configuration {: #caddy}
 
+!!!note
+    These variables are only needed if you're using the Caddy configuration in our [default Docker Compose](../../installation/docker-compose/#steps) file.
+
 ### `DOMAIN_NAME`
 
 - **Description**: The public URL that will be used to access Mathesar ([see Caddy docs](https://caddyserver.com/docs/caddyfile/concepts#addresses)).

diff --git a/docs/docs/index.md b/docs/docs/index.md
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ See our [live demo site](https://demo.mathesar.org/) to try Mathesar without ins
 
 ### Try locally
 
-This is a quick way to play with Mathesar locally before installing, but will not be appropriate for saving data that you care about.
+This is a quick way to play with Mathesar locally, but is not appropriate for saving data that you care about or setting up a long-term installation.
 
 1. With [Docker](https://docs.docker.com/get-docker/) installed, run:
 
@@ -51,8 +51,8 @@ You can self-host Mathesar by following one of the guides below:
 
 Mathesar should be pretty intuitive to use. More documentation is coming soon, but for now, we've written some documentation for some things that could be tricky.
 
-- [Syncing Database Changes](./user-guide/syncing-db.md)
-- [Users & Access Levels](./user-guide/users.md)
+- [Syncing database changes](./user-guide/syncing-db.md) if the database's structure is changed outside of Mathesar.
+- How to set up [users with different access levels](./user-guide/users.md)
 
 ## Contribute to Mathesar
 

diff --git a/docs/docs/installation/docker-compose/index.md b/docs/docs/installation/docker-compose/index.md
@@ -104,3 +104,16 @@ Add your domain(s) or sub-domain(s) to the [`DOMAIN_NAME`](../../configuration/e
     ```
 
 Restart the docker containers for the configuration to take effect.
+
+### Using an external PostgreSQL server for Mathesar's internal database
+
+If you'd like to use an external PostgreSQL server for Mathesar's internal database, you'll need to do the following:
+
+
+1. On the existing database server, [create a new database](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/sql-createdatabase.html) for Mathesar to store its metadata.
+
+    ```bash
+    psql -c 'create database mathesar_django;'
+    ```
+
+1. Configure the [internal database environment variables](../../configuration/env-variables.md#db) to point to the database you just created. Ensure that you change the default values for the user, password, and host.
diff --git a/docs/mkdocs.yml b/docs/mkdocs.yml
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@ nav:
       - Install from scratch: installation/build-from-source/index.md
   - Configuration:
       - Environment variables: configuration/env-variables.md
-      - Connect to an existing database server: configuration/connect-to-existing-db.md
   - Administration:
       - Upgrade:
         - To 0.1.4: administration/upgrade/0.1.4.md