DataBind Charts to Salesforce CRM Analytics Data

DataBinding facilitates two-way interaction with data through UI controls. Using the CData ADO.NET Provider for Salesforce CRM Analytics streamlines the process of binding Salesforce CRM Analytics data to Windows Forms and Web controls within Visual Studio. In this article, we will demonstrate using wizards to establish a binding between Salesforce CRM Analytics data and a chart that dynamically updates. Additionally, the code walk-through section will guide you through the creation of a chart using just 10 lines of code.

Binding Data to a Chart

DataBinding to a Chart consists of three steps: Instantiate the control, configure the data source, and databind.

Configure the Connection and Select Database Objects

To create a chart control and establish a connection to Salesforce CRM Analytics, follow the steps outlined below using the Data Source Configuration Wizard. Within the wizard, you'll have the option to choose the specific Salesforce CRM Analytics entities you wish to bind to.

1. In a Windows Forms project, drag and drop a Chart control from the toolbox to the form. In the Data section of the Chart properties, select DataSource and then select Add Project Data Source from the menu.
2. In the Data Source Configuration Wizard that appears, select Database -> Dataset.
3. In the Choose Your Data Connection step, click New Connection.

4. In the Add Connection dialog, click Change to select the CData Salesforce CRM Analytics Data Source.

   Below is a typical connection string:

   OAuthClientId=MyConsumerKey;OAuthClientSecret=MyConsumerSecret;CallbackURL=http://localhost:portNumber;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;MFACode=YourMFACode

   Salesforce CRM Analytics uses the OAuth 2 authentication standard. Obtain the OAuthClientId and OAuthClientSecret by registering an app with Salesforce CRM Analytics.

   See the Getting Started section of the Help documentation for an authentication guide.

   Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

   If the connected Salesforce org has MFA enforcement enabled, set MFACode to the time-based one-time passcode (TOTP) generated by your authenticator app (such as Salesforce Authenticator or Google Authenticator). MFACode applies alongside the standard OAuth flow.

   When you configure the connection, 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.

   
5. Choose the database objects you want to work with. This example uses the Dataset_Opportunity table.

DataBind

After adding the data source and selecting database objects, you can bind the objects to the chart. This example assigns the x-axis to Name and the y-axis to CloseDate.

1. In the Chart properties, click the button in the Series property to open the Series Collection Editor.
2. In the Series properties, select the columns you want for the x- and y-axes: Select columns from the menu in the XValueMember and YValueMember properties.

The chart is now databound to the Salesforce CRM Analytics data. Run the chart to display the current data.

Code Walk-through

DataBinding to Salesforce CRM Analytics data requires only a few lines of code and can be completed in three easy steps.

1. Connect to Salesforce CRM Analytics.
2. Create the SalesforceCRMAnalyticsDataAdapter to execute the query and create a DataSet to be filled with its results.
3. DataBind the result set to the chart.

Below is the complete code:

SalesforceCRMAnalyticsConnection conn = new SalesforceCRMAnalyticsConnection("OAuthClientId=MyConsumerKey;OAuthClientSecret=MyConsumerSecret;CallbackURL=http://localhost:portNumber;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;MFACode=YourMFACode");
SalesforceCRMAnalyticsCommand comm = new SalesforceCRMAnalyticsCommand("SELECT Name, CloseDate FROM Dataset_Opportunity", conn);
SalesforceCRMAnalyticsDataAdapter da = new SalesforceCRMAnalyticsDataAdapter(comm);
DataSet dataset = new DataSet();
da.Fill(dataset);

chart1.DataSource = dataset;  
chart1.Series[0].XValueMember = "Name";
chart1.Series[0].YValueMembers = "CloseDate";
// Insert code for additional chart formatting here.
chart1.DataBind();