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Create Dynamics 365-Connected Business Apps in AppSheet


Connect to Dynamics 365 Data via CData Connect Cloud in Google AppSheet and create custom business applications with real-time access to Dynamics 365 data.

Google AppSheet is a no-code development platform for application software, enabling users to design mobile, tablet, and web applications. When combined with CData Connect Cloud, you gain immediate cloud-to-cloud access to Dynamics 365 data for business applications. This article outlines the process of connecting to Dynamics 365 using Connect Cloud and constructing a basic app from Dynamics 365 data within AppSheet.

CData Connect Cloud offers a dedicated cloud-to-cloud interface for Dynamics 365, enabling the creation of reports directly from live Dynamics 365 data within AppSheet, all without the need for data replication to a native database. When you design applications that interact with data, AppSheet formulates SQL queries to retrieve the required information. With its inherent optimized data processing capabilities, CData Connect Cloud efficiently channels all supported SQL operations, including filters and JOINs, directly to Dynamics 365. This leverages server-side processing to swiftly deliver the requested Dynamics 365 data.

About Dynamics 365 Data Integration

CData simplifies access and integration of live Microsoft Dynamics 365 data. Our customers leverage CData connectivity to:

  • Read and write data in the full Dynamics 365 ecosystem: Sales, Customer Service, Finance & Operations, Marketing, and more.
  • Extend the native features of Dynamics CRM with customizable caching and intelligent query aggregation and separation.
  • Authenticate securely with Dynamics 365 in a variety of ways, including Azure Active Directory, Azure Managed Service Identity credentials, and Azure Service Principal using either a client secret or a certificate.
  • Use SQL stored procedures to manage their Dynamics 365 entities - listing, creating, and removing associations between entities.

CData customers use our Dynamics 365 connectivity solutions for a variety of reasons, whether they're looking to replicate their data into a data warehouse (alongside other data sources)or analyze live Dynamics 365 data from their preferred data tools inside the Microsoft ecosystem (Power BI, Excel, etc.) or with external tools (Tableau, Looker, etc.).


Getting Started


Configure Dynamics 365 Connectivity for AppSheet

Connectivity to Dynamics 365 from AppSheet is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with Dynamics 365 data from AppSheet, we start by creating and configuring a Dynamics 365 connection.

  1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Connections and click Add Connection
  2. Select "Dynamics 365" from the Add Connection panel
  3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Dynamics 365.

    Edition and OrganizationUrl are required connection properties. The Dynamics 365 connector supports connecting to the following editions: CustomerService, FieldService, FinOpsOnline, FinOpsOnPremise, HumanResources, Marketing, ProjectOperations and Sales.

    For Dynamics 365 Business Central, use the separate Dynamics 365 Business Central driver.

    OrganizationUrl is the URL to your Dynamics 365 organization. For instance, https://orgcb42e1d0.crm.dynamics.com

  4. Click Create & Test
  5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Dynamics 365 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.

With the connection configured, you are ready to connect to Dynamics 365 data from AppSheet.

Connect to Dynamics 365 from AppSheet

The steps below outline connecting to CData Connect Cloud from AppSheet to create a new Dynamics 365 data source.

  1. Log into AppSheet
  2. Click "My account" in the menu
  3. Click the Sources tab and add a new data source
  4. Select Cloud Database and set the connection information
    • Type: Sql Server
    • Server: tds.cdata.com,14333
    • Database: the Dynamics 365 connection, for example, Dynamics3651
    • Username: a Connect Cloud user, for example, [email protected]
    • Password: the PAT for the above Connect Cloud user
    • SSL: Require SSL
  5. Click "Test Connection"
  6. Click "Authorize Access"

Create an App

Once you create the data source for Dynamics 365, you can start building apps on Dynamics 365 data. Start by clicking "My apps" in the menu.

  1. Click to create a new app and select "Start with your own data"
  2. Name the app and select an appropriate category, based on your data
  3. Select the newly created data source
  4. Select the table or view with the data you want

At this point, you can configure the design of your app, selecting which columns from the selected table to display, use as labels, and more. Preview the app in the preview panel and then publish or share it when ready.

To get live data access to 100+ SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your cloud applications, try CData Connect Cloud today!

Ready to get started?

Learn more about CData Connect Cloud or sign up for free trial access:

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