Hi Miranda,
I'm assuming your CA Plex application is a Java app?
In that case, the only documented approach for not specifying the database password in the server and client properties file is available for CA Plex Java applications running in a J2EE environment by using JDBC data sources specified in the Application Server. Otherwise you must store the password in plain text. There is currently no supported means of obfuscating the password in these files for Java, BUT you could post this enhancement request as an IDEA, here, on the CA Plex 2E community, and Plex Product Management would be obliged to consider adding your idea to the backlog.
Thanks,
Stephen W. Slaughter
CA Plex Support