Import Real-Time Salesforce CRM Analytics Data via ODBC in ColdFusion to Build Applications

Dibyendu Datta
Dibyendu Datta
Lead Technology Evangelist
Use CData ODBC drivers to import and use Salesforce CRM Analytics data in ColdFusion.

Adobe ColdFusion is a web and mobile application development platform. It uses its own scripting language, ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML), to create data-driven websites as well as generate remote services, such as REST. When ColdFusion is paired with the CData ODBC Driver for Salesforce CRM Analytics, you can link your ColdFusion web and mobile applications to operational Salesforce CRM Analytics data. This allows for your applications to be more robust and complete. This article details how to use the ODBC driver to create a table populated with Salesforce CRM Analytics data from within a ColdFusion markup file.

To follow along with this tutorial, you need to install the CData ODBC Driver for Salesforce CRM Analytics and Adobe ColdFusion.

Configuring the Connection

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 process. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

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.

Adding a Data Source and Creating a Table

After creating a DSN, follow the steps below to add a new data source, test our connection to it, create a ColdFusion markup file, and, finally, import Salesforce CRM Analytics Data and display it in a table in ColdFusion:

  1. From the ColdFusion administrator interface, choose Data & Services. Selecting Data & Services
  2. Here, click "Add New Data Source". The data source name can be any name, provided it conforms to the ColdFusion variable naming conventions. For our ODBC driver, choose "ODBC Socket", then click the "Add" button. Adding Data Source Name
  3. From the ODBC DSN Dropdown menu select CData Salesforce CRM Analytics Sys. Under the Advanced Settings section, leave the Connection String blank. Note that any properties specified in this input field will override the ones specified in the DSN Configuration. Populating driver properties
  4. Now, test the connection by pressing the check mark to the left of the CDataSalesforce CRM AnalyticsODBC data source you just created. When the data source reports an "OK" status, it is ready for use. Testing the connection
  5. Next, create a new ColdFusion Markup file (.cfm) and place it in the wwwroot directory ("C:\ColdFusion2021\cfusion\wwwroot") for ColdFusion.

    The following code queries the data source: 

                
        <cfquery name="Salesforce CRM AnalyticsQuery" dataSource="CDataSalesforce CRM AnalyticsODBC"> 
          SELECT * FROM Dataset_Opportunity 
        </cfquery>
    And a CFTable can be used to quickly output the table in HTML: 
                
          <cftable  
          query = "Salesforce CRM AnalyticsQuery" 
          border = "1" 
          colHeaders 
          colSpacing = "2" 
          headerLines = "2" 
          HTMLTable 
          maxRows = "500" 
          startRow = "1"> 

          <cfcol header="<b>Name</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="Name"/> 

          <cfcol header="<b>CloseDate</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="CloseDate"/> 

          ...

        </cftable>
    Full code, including the HTML portion is available below: 
                
        <html> 
        <head><title>CData Software | Salesforce CRM Analytics Dataset_Opportunity Table Demo </title></head> 
        <body> 
        <cfoutput>#ucase("Salesforce CRM Analytics Dataset_Opportunity Table Demo")#</cfoutput> 
        <cfquery name="Salesforce CRM AnalyticsQuery" dataSource="CDataSalesforce CRM AnalyticsODBC"> 

          SELECT * FROM Dataset_Opportunity 

        </cfquery> 
        <cftable  
          query = "Salesforce CRM AnalyticsQuery" 
          border = "1" 
          colHeaders 
          colSpacing = "2" 
          headerLines = "2" 
          HTMLTable 
          maxRows = "500" 
          startRow = "1"> 
          <cfcol header="<b>Name</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="Name"/> 

          <cfcol header="<b>CloseDate</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="CloseDate"/> 

          ...

        </cftable> 
        </body> 

        </html>
  6. Finally, run the code in a browser. It produces a table populated with Salesforce CRM Analytics data! Running the code

As a note, the CData ODBC Drivers also support parameterized queries using the cfqueryparam element. For example: 

SELECT * FROM Account WHERE name =

Get Started Today

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData ODBC Driver for Salesforce CRM Analytics and start building Salesforce CRM Analytics-connected applications with Adobe ColdFusion. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.

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Download a free trial of the Salesforce CRM Analytics ODBC Driver to get started:

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Learn more:

Salesforce CRM Analytics Icon Salesforce CRM Analytics ODBC Driver

The Salesforce CRM Analytics ODBC Driver is a powerful tool that allows you to connect with live data from Salesforce CRM Analytics, directly from any applications that support ODBC connectivity.

Access Salesforce CRM Analytics data like you would a database - read, write, and update Salesforce CRM Analytics Dataset, Lens, etc. through a standard ODBC Driver interface.

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