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Viewing SuiteCRM Data in RAD Studio Data Explorer
How to view SuiteCRM data in RAD Studio Data Explorer using the CData ODBC Driver for SuiteCRM.
Embarcadero RAD Studio provides a development environment for Delphi and C++Builder applications. With the CData ODBC Driver for SuiteCRM, you gain access to live SuiteCRM data within RAD Studio, abstracting the data into tables, views, and stored procedures that can be used to both retrieve and update SuiteCRM data. This article will walk through connecting to SuiteCRM using the Data Explorer.
Configure a Connection to SuiteCRM
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.
The User and Password properties must be set to valid SuiteCRM user credentials. Additionally, specify the URL to the SuiteCRM application, for example http://suite.crm.com.
Note that retrieving SuiteCRM metadata can be expensive. It is advised that you store the metadata locally as described in the Caching Metadata section of the data provider help documentation.
Connecting to SuiteCRM Data Using Data Explorer
You can create a simple application for displaying SuiteCRM data by utilizing the CData FireDAC Components for SuiteCRM and a new VCL Forms Application:
- Open the Data Explorer in RAD Studio and expand FireDAC.
- Right-click the ODBC Data Source node in the Data Explorer.
- Click Add New Connection.
![]( "Adding a New Connection. (Salesforce is shown.)")
- Enter a name for the connection.
- In the FireDAC Connection Editor that appears, set the DataSource property to the name of the ODBC DSN for SuiteCRM.
![]( "Setting the Connection Parameters. (Salesforce is shown.)")
- Back in the Data Explorer, expand the tables for the connection.
Create a new VCL Forms application and drag a table (for example: Accounts) onto the form.
![]( "Placing the Table on the Form. (Salesforce is shown.)")
- Select the AccountsTable object on the form and set the Active property to true.
Right-click on the object, bind visually, and link everything (*) to a new control (TStringGrid).
![]( "Visually Binding the Table. (Salesforce is shown.)")
Arrange the TStringGrid on the form and run the application to see the Accounts data.
![]( "The Table data on a Form. (Salesforce is shown.)")
Related Articles
Below you can find other articles for using the CData ODBC Driver with RAD Studio, Delphi, and C++ Builder.
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SuiteCRM ODBC Driver
The SuiteCRM ODBC Driver is a powerful tool that allows you to connect with live SuiteCRM account data, directly from any applications that support ODBC connectivity.
Access CRM data like you would a database - read, write, and update Leads, Contacts, Opportunities, Accounts, etc. through a standard ODBC Driver interface.
