Integrate Dynamics CRM Data into Power Automate Desktop using CData Connect

CData Connect enables you to access live Dynamics CRM data in workflow automation tools like Power Automate. This article shows how to integrate Dynamics CRM data into a simple workflow, saving Dynamics CRM data into a CSV file.

CData Connect provides a live interface for Dynamics CRM, allowing you to integrate with live Dynamics CRM data in Power Automate — without replicating the data. Connect uses optimized data processing out of the box to push all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Dynamics CRM, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Dynamics CRM data.

Configure Dynamics CRM Connectivity for Power Automate

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

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

   The connection string options meet the authentication and connection requirements of different Dynamics CRM instances. To connect to your instance, set the User and Password properties, under the Authentication section, to valid Dynamics CRM user credentials and set the Url to a valid Dynamics CRM server organization root. Additionally, set the CRMVersion property to 'CRM2011+' or 'CRMOnline'. IFD configurations are supported as well; set InternetFacingDeployment to true.

   Additionally, you can provide the security token service (STS) or AD FS endpoint in the STSURL property. This value can be retrieved with the GetSTSUrl stored procedure. Office 365 users can connect to the default STS URL by simply setting CRMVersion.

4. Click Create & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Dynamics CRM 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 CRM data from Power Automate Desktop.

Integrate Dynamics CRM Data into Power Automate Workflows

After configuring CData Connect with Dynamics CRM, you are ready to integrate Dynamics CRM data into your Power Automate workflows. Open Microsoft Power Automate, add a new flow, and name the flow.

In the flow editor, you can add the options to connect to Dynamics CRM, query Dynamics CRM using SQL, and write the query results to a CSV document.

Add an Open SQL Connection Action

Add an "Open SQL connection" action (Action -> Database) and click the option to build the Connection string. In the Data Link Properties wizard:

1. On the Provider tab: select Microsoft OLE DB Driver for SQL Server
2. On the Connection tab:
   1. Select or enter a server name: set to tds.cdata.com,14333
   2. Enter information to lag onto the server: select "Use a specific username and password"
      • Set User name to your CData Connect Cloud user name (e.g. user@mydomain.com)
      • Set Password to your PAT
      • Select the database: use the database configured above (e.g. DynamicsCRM1)
3. Click "Test Connection" to ensure the connection is configured properly
4. Click "OK"

After building the connection string in the Data Link Properties wizard, save the action.

Add an Execute SQL Statement Action

Add an "Execute SQL statement" action (Action -> Database) and configure the properties.

• Get connection by: SQL connection variable
• SQL connection: %SQLConnection% (the variable from the "Open SQL connection" action above)
• SQL statement: SELECT * FROM Account

After configuring the properties, save the action.

Add a Write to CSV File Action

Add a "Write to CSV file" action (Action -> File) and configure the properties.

• Variable to write to: %QueryResult% (the variable from the "Execute SQL statement" action above)
• File path: set to a file on disk
• Configure Advanced settings as needed.

After configuring the properties, save the action.

Add a Close SQL Connection Action

Add a "Close SQL connection" action (Action -> Database) and configure the properties.

• SQL Connection: %SQLConnection% (the variable from the "Open SQL connection" action above)

After configuring the properties, save the action.

Save & Run the Flow

Once you have configured all the options for the flow, click the disk icon to save the flow. Click the play icon to run the flow.

Now you have a workflow to save Dynamics CRM data into a CSV file.

With CData Connect Cloud, you get live connectivity to Dynamics CRM data within your Microsoft Power Automate workflows.

SQL Access to Dynamics CRM Data from Cloud Applications

Now you have a direct connection to live Dynamics CRM data from Power Automate tasks. You can create more connections and workflows to drive business — all without replicating Dynamics CRM data.

To get SQL data access to 100+ SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your cloud applications, sign up for a free trial of CData Connect Cloud.

Related Power Automate Articles

This article walks through using CData Connect Cloud with Power Automate Desktop. Check out our other articles for more ways to work with Power Automate (Desktop & Online):

• Dynamics CRM Data in Power Automate Desktop via ODBC
• Dynamics CRM Data in Power Automate (Online) using CData Connect Cloud