Build Dashboards with HubDB Data in Dundas BI

The CData ODBC Driver for HubDB enables access to live data from HubDB under the ODBC standard, allowing you work with HubDB data in a wide variety of BI, reporting, and ETL tools and directly, using familiar SQL queries. This article shows how to connect to HubDB data as a generic ODBC Data Provider and create charts, reports, and dashboards based on HubDB data in Dundas BI.

Connect to HubDB Data

1. If you have not already done so, provide values for the required connection properties in the data source name (DSN). You can configure the DSN using the built-in Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator. This is also the last step of the driver installation. See the "Getting Started" chapter in the Help documentation for a guide to using the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure a DSN.
   
   

   There are two authentication methods available for connecting to HubDB data source: OAuth Authentication with a public HubSpot application and authentication with a Private application token.

   Using a Custom OAuth App

   AuthScheme must be set to "OAuth" in all OAuth flows. Be sure to review the Help documentation for the required connection properties for you specific authentication needs (desktop applications, web applications, and headless machines).

   Follow the steps below to register an application and obtain the OAuth client credentials:

   1. Log into your HubSpot app developer account.
      • Note that it must be an app developer account. Standard HubSpot accounts cannot create public apps.
   2. On the developer account home page, click the Apps tab.
   3. Click Create app.
   4. On the App info tab, enter and optionally modify values that are displayed to users when they connect. These values include the public application name, application logo, and a description of the application.
   5. On the Auth tab, supply a callback URL in the "Redirect URLs" box.
      • If you're creating a desktop application, set this to a locally accessible URL like http://localhost:33333.
      • If you are creating a Web application, set this to a trusted URL where you want users to be redirected to when they authorize your application.
   6. Click Create App. HubSpot then generates the application, along with its associated credentials.
   7. On the Auth tab, note the Client ID and Client secret. You will use these later to configure the driver.

   8. Under Scopes, select any scopes you need for your application's intended functionality.

      A minimum of the following scopes is required to access tables:

      • hubdb
      • oauth
      • crm.objects.owners.read
   9. Click Save changes.
   10. Install the application into a production portal with access to the features that are required by the integration.
       • Under "Install URL (OAuth)", click Copy full URL to copy the installation URL for your application.
       • Navigate to the copied link in your browser. Select a standard account in which to install the application.
       • Click Connect app. You can close the resulting tab.

   Using a Private App

   To connect using a HubSpot private application token, set the AuthScheme property to "PrivateApp."

   You can generate a private application token by following the steps below:

   1. In your HubDB account, click the settings icon (the gear) in the main navigation bar.
   2. In the left sidebar menu, navigate to Integrations > Private Apps.
   3. Click Create private app.
   4. On the Basic Info tab, configure the details of your application (name, logo, and description).
   5. On the Scopes tab, select Read or Write for each scope you want your private application to be able to access.
   6. A minimum of hubdb and crm.objects.owners.read is required to access tables.
   7. After you are done configuring your application, click Create app in the top right.
   8. Review the info about your application's access token, click Continue creating, and then Show token.
   9. Click Copy to copy the private application token.

   To connect, set PrivateAppToken to the private application token you retrieved.

   When you configure the DSN, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

2. Open the Dundas BI interface, open the menu, and click New Data Connector.
3. Configure the Dundas BI Data Connector:
   • Name the Data Connector.
   • Select "ODBC generic" as the Data Provider.
   • Check the "Use System DSN" checkbox.
   • Select the appropriate System DSN.

Add HubDB Data to a Dashboard

You are now ready to create a dashboard with HubDB data.

1. Navigate to the Home page.
2. Click Explore Data.
3. Expand the appropriate Data Connector.
4. Drag the relevant data from the Connector to the panel.
   • You can select an entire "table" to add, but you may need to remove Measures/Rows from the Metric Set to build an appropriate visualization. Alternatively, you can select only the fields you wish to include in the visualization.
   • With the fields selected, you can add any filters or conditions on the Measures and Rows, further customizing the visualization.
5. Click Re-visualize from the menu bar and select the appropriate visualization for the data.
6. Click Add To New Dashboard to add the visualization to a new dashboard.
7. Configure the dashboard, creating dynamic visualizations of HubDB data.