Connect to Zendesk Data from HeidiSQL

HeidiSQL is an open-source database administration tool that natively supports MariaDB, MySQL, SQL Server, and PostgreSQL. When paired with CData Connect Cloud, HediSQL reach extends to include access to live Zendesk data. This article demonstrates how to connect to Zendesk using Connect Cloud and query Zendesk data in HeidiSQL.

CData Connect Cloud provides a pure SQL Server interface for Zendesk, allowing you to query data from Zendesk without replicating the data to a natively supported database. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect Cloud pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc.) directly to Zendesk, leveraging server-side processing to return the requested Zendesk data quickly.

Configure Zendesk Connectivity for HeidiSQL

Connectivity to Zendesk from HeidiSQL is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with Zendesk data from HeidiSQL, we start by creating and configuring a Zendesk connection.

1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Connections and click Add Connection
2. Select "Zendesk" from the Add Connection panel
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Zendesk.

   Connecting to Zendesk

   To connect, set the URL and provide authentication. The URL is your Zendesk Support URL: https://{subdomain}.zendesk.com.

   Authenticating to Zendesk

   You can authenticate using the Basic or OAuth methods.

   Using Basic Authentication

   To use Basic authentication, specify your email address and password or your email address and an API token. Set User to your email address and follow the steps below to provide the Password or ApiToken.

   • Enable password access in the Zendesk Support admin interface at Admin > Channels > API.
   • Manage API tokens in the Zendesk Support Admin interface at Admin > Channels > API. More than one token can be active at the same time. Deleting a token deactivates it permanently.

   Using OAuth Authentication

   See the Getting Started guide in the CData driver documentation for an authentication guide.

4. Click Create & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Zendesk Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

If you are connecting from a service, application, platform, or framework that does not support OAuth authentication, you can create a Personal Access Token (PAT) to use for authentication. Best practices would dictate that you create a separate PAT for each service, to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on your username at the top right of the Connect Cloud app and click User Profile.
2. On the User Profile page, scroll down to the Personal Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give your PAT a name and click Create.
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

Connect to Zendesk from HeidiSQL using Connect Cloud

To establish a connection from HeidiSQL to the CData Connect Cloud Virtual SQL Server API, follow these steps.

Create a new HeidiSQL Session

1. In the Session Manager, select New in the bottom-left
2. Give the new session a descriptive name, e.g. Connect-Cloud-Zendesk

Configure a SQL Server Connection to Connect Cloud

1. In the session settings, set the Network type to Microsoft SQL Server (TCP/IP)
2. The Library DLL should automatically update to MSOLEDBSQL
3. Set the Hostname/IP to tds.cdata.com
4. Set the User to your CData Connect Cloud username. This is displayed in the top-right corner of the CData Connect Cloud interface. For example, [email protected]
5. Set the Password to your PAT created in Connect Cloud in the previous section.
6. Set the Port to 14333

Query Zendesk from HeidiSQL

1. In the database listing on the left, find your connection to Zendesk configured earlier.
2. Expand this connection to view individual tables or data objects present within Zendesk.
3. Write custom SQL queries targeting these tables, treating the data source like any SQL Server database, or visually explore each tabular data set by selecting the relevant tables

Get CData Connect Cloud

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