Relations / Linked Tables in PHPMyAdmin

When upgrading from an ancient version of PHPMyAdmin to the latest version 3.2.1, I wanted to try out the new relation features today. After about two hours of trying it out, it worked. Perhaps the following tips will help one or the other to speed up the process:
In the configuration for the MySQL server, the variable $ cfg [‘Servers’] [$ i] [‘pmadb’] must be defined in the file /config.inc.php; it specifies the name of the database in which the additional information for the linked table features. The tables in this database can be created with the script /scripts/create_tables.sql.
A control user must be specified for the server who has access to the database defined in $ cfg [‘Servers’] [$ i] [‘pmadb’]:

$ cfg [‘Servers’] [$ i] [‘controluser’] = ‘…’;
$ cfg [‘Servers’] [$ i] [‘controlpass’] = ‘…’;
ALL tables for the new functions in the server configuration must be specified:

$ cfg [‘Servers’] [$ i] [‘relation’] = ‘pma_relation’;
$ cfg [‘Servers’] [$ i] [‘table_info’] = ‘pma_table_info’;
$ cfg [‘Servers’] [$ i] [‘table_coords’] = ‘pma_table_coords’;
$ cfg [‘Servers’] [$ i] [‘pdf_pages’] = ‘pma_pdf_pages’;
$ cfg [‘Servers’] [$ i] [‘column_info’] = ‘pma_column_info’;
$ cfg [‘Servers’] [$ i] [‘history’] = ‘pma_history’;
$ cfg [‘Servers’] [$ i] [‘designer_coords’] = ‘pma_designer_coords’;
$ cfg [‘Servers’] [$ i] [‘bookmarktable’] = ‘pma_bookmark’;
Even if, for example, the PDF export should not be used, the variable must be filled, otherwise PHPMyAdmin switches off the relation functions completely (error message “The additional functions for linked tables were automatically deactivated. Click here to find out why.” / “The additional features for working with linked tables have been deactivated. To find out why click here. “).
And now the strangest thing: The diagnostic display of the individual configuration variables within PHPMyAdmin is NOT updated when the website is reloaded. The diagnosis is recorded in the session. So if you have changed the configuration and want to test whether it finally works, the browser must be closed and PHPMyAdmin must be completely restarted.
Once you’ve done all of that, the designer and relational displays are really handy.