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Rapidly Develop Dynamics 365 Business Central-Driven Apps with Active Query Builder
Leverage the Active Query Builder SQL interface builder and the ease of .NET data access to create data-driven WinForms and ASP.NET apps.
Write standard .NET to expose Dynamics 365 Business Central data through an SQL interface: Active Query Builder helps developers write SQL interfaces; the CData ODBC Driver for Dynamics 365 Business Central enables standards-based access to Dynamics 365 Business Central. This integration uses the Microsoft ADO.NET Provider for ODBC as a bridge between the ODBC Driver and the Active Query Builder objects to build a visual SQL composer.
Connect to Dynamics 365 Business Central as an ODBC Data Source
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. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.
To authenticate to Dynamics 365 Business Central, you must provide the User and AccessKey properties.
To obtain the User and AccessKey values, navigate to the Users page in Dynamics 365 Business Central and then click on Edit. The User Name and Web Service Access Key values are what you will enter as the User and AccessKey connection string properties. Note that the User Name is not your email address. It is a shortened user name.
To connect to data, specify OrganizationUrl. If you have multiple companies in your organization, you must also specify the Company to indicate which company you would like to connect to. Company does not need to be specified if you have only one company.
Use SQL to Interact with Dynamics 365 Business Central
Follow the steps below to create a WinForms visual query builder.
- Open Active Query Builder for .NET WinForms.
![]( "Opening Active Query Builder.")
- In the new Windows Forms project go to the "File" menu and click "Connect..."
- Under Database Connections, click "Add..."
![]( "Adding a new Connection.")
- Set your desired Connection Name (e.g. CData Dynamics 365 Business Central), set Connection Type to "ODBC" and locate your previously configured DSN in the "User/System" DSN dropdown.
![]( "Selecting a previously configured DSN (Amazon Athena is shown).")
- Click "OK" to save the new connection.
- Back in the Database Connection wizard, select the newly created connection and click "OK."
![]( "A newly added Connection (Amazon Athena is shown).")
- Click "File" > "New Query" to create a QueryBuilder
You can now build queries visually: Double-click a table in the Columns Pane Area and an entity/relationship diagram is displayed in the Query Building Area. Columns that you select in the diagram are added to the query.
Ready to get started?
Download a free trial of the Dynamics 365 Business Central ODBC Driver to get started:
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Dynamics 365 Business Central ODBC Driver
The Dynamics 365 Business Central ODBC Driver is a powerful tool that allows you to connect with live Dynamics 365 Business Central data, directly from any applications that support ODBC connectivity.
Access Dynamics 365 Business Central like you would a database - read, write, and update Items, Sales Orders, Purchase Orders, etc. through a standard ODBC Driver interface.
