Connect to Act CRM Data in DBArtisan

The CData ODBC Driver for Act CRM seamlessly integrates Act CRM data into database management tools like DBArtisan by enabling you to access Act CRM data as a database. This article shows how to create an data source for Act CRM in DBArtisan and execute queries. You can then edit data visually and execute standard SQL.

Integrate Act CRM Data into DBArtisan Projects

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

The User and Password properties, under the Authentication section, must be set to valid Act! user credentials. In addition to the authentication values, see the following:

• Connecting to Act! Premium

  In addition to the authentication values, the URL to Act! is also required; for example https://eup1-iis-04.eu.hosted.act.com/.

  Additionally, you must specify the ActDatabase you will connect to. This is found by going to the About Act! Premium menu of your account, at the top right of the page, in the ? menu. Use the Database Name in the window that appears.

• Connecting to Act! Premium Cloud

  To connect to your Act! Premium Cloud account, you also need to specify the ActCloudName property. This property is found in the URL address of the Cloud account; for example https://eup1-iis-04.eu.hosted.act.com/ActCloudName/.

Note that retrieving ActCRM metadata can be expensive. It is advised that you set the CacheMetadata property to store the metadata locally.

You can then follow the steps below to register Act CRM data as a database instance in your project:

1. In DBArtisan, click Data Source -> Register Datasource.
2. Select Generic ODBC.
3. Enter a name for the data source and select the DSN.
4. Finish the wizard to connect to Act CRM data. Act CRM entities are displayed in the Datasource Explorer.

You can now work with Act CRM data as you work with any other database. See the driver help documentation for more information on the queries supported by the Act CRM API.