Visualize Act CRM Data in TIBCO Spotfire through OData

OData is a major protocol enabling real-time communication among cloud-based, mobile, and other online applications. The CData Connect Server provides Act CRM data to OData consumers like TIBCO Spotfire. This article shows how to use the Connect Server and Spotfire's built-in support for OData to access Act CRM data in real time.

Configuring Connect Server

To work with live Act CRM data in TIBCO Spotfire, we need to connect to Act CRM from Connect Server, provide user access to the new virtual database, and create OData endpoints for the Act CRM data.

Add a Connect Server User

Create a User to connect to Act CRM from TIBCO Spotfire through Connect Server.

1. Click Users -> Add
2. Configure a User
3. Click Save Changes and make note of the Authtoken for the new user

Connect to Act CRM from Connect Server

CData Connect Server uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources and generate APIs.

1. Open Connect Server and click Connections
2. Select "Act CRM" from Available Data Sources
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Act CRM.

   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.

4. Click Save Changes
5. Click Privileges -> Add and add the new user (or an existing user) with the appropriate permissions (SELECT is all that is required for Reveal).

Add Act CRM OData Endpoints in Connect Server

After connecting to Act CRM, create OData Endpoints for the desired table(s).

1. Click OData -> Tables -> Add Tables
2. Select the Act CRM database
3. Select the table(s) you wish to work with and click Next
4. (Optional) Edit the resource to select specific fields and more
5. Save the settings

(Optional) Configure Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS)

When accessing and connecting to multiple domains from an application such as Ajax, there is a possibility of violating the limitations of cross-site scripting. In that case, configure the CORS settings in OData -> Settings.

• Enable cross-origin resource sharing (CORS): ON
• Allow all domains without '*': ON
• Access-Control-Allow-Methods: GET, PUT, POST, OPTIONS
• Access-Control-Allow-Headers: Authorization

Save the changes to the settings.

Create Data Visualizations on External Act CRM Data

1. Open Spotfire and click Data -> Add data...
2. Then, click "Connect to" -> OData -> New Connection. In the OData Connection dialog, enter the following information:
   • Service URL: Enter the Connect Server's OData endpoint. For example: http://localhost:8080/odata.rsc
   • Authentication Method: Select Username and Password.
   • Username: Enter the username of a Connect Server user. You can create API users on the Security tab of the administration console.
   • Password: Enter the authtoken of a Connect Server user.
3. Select the tables and columns you want to add to the dashboard. This example uses Activities.

4. If you want to work with the live data, click the Keep Data Table External option. This option enables your dashboards to reflect changes to the data in real time.

   If you want to load the data into memory and process the data locally, click the Import Data Table option. This option is better for offline use or if a slow network connection is making your dashboard less interactive.

5. After you have selected a table, Spotfire uses the data to detect number, time, and other categories. You are now on your way to creating new visualizations for analytics, reporting, and more.

Free Trial & More Information

If you are interested in connecting to your Act CRM data (or data from any of our other supported data sources) from TIBCO Spotfire, sign up for a free trial of CData Connect Server today! For more information on Connect Server and to see what other data sources we support, refer to our CData Connect page.