PowerShell Scripting to Replicate Xero WorkflowMax Data to MySQL

The CData Cmdlets for Xero WorkflowMax offer live access to Xero WorkflowMax data from within PowerShell. Using PowerShell scripts, you can easily automate regular tasks like data replication. This article will walk through using the CData Cmdlets for Xero WorkflowMax and the CData Cmdlets for MySQL in PowerShell to replicate Xero WorkflowMax data to a MySQL database.

After obtaining the needed connection properties, accessing Xero WorkflowMax data in PowerShell and preparing for replication consists of four basic steps.

To connect to the WorkflowMax API, obtain an APIKey and AccountKey from Xero. This can only be done by contacting Xero support (https://www.workflowmax.com/contact-us).

After obtaining an API Key and Account Key, set the values in the APIKey and AccountKey connection properties. Once these are set, you are ready to connect.

Collecting Xero WorkflowMax Data

1. Install the module:

   Install-Module XeroWorkflowMaxCmdlets

2. Connect to Xero WorkflowMax:

   $xeroworkflowmax = Connect-XeroWorkflowMax -APIKey $APIKey -AccountKey $AccountKey

3. Retrieve the data from a specific resource:

   $data = Select-XeroWorkflowMax -Connection $xeroworkflowmax -Table "Clients"

   You can also use the Invoke-XeroWorkflowMax cmdlet to execute pure SQL-92 statements:

   $data = Invoke-XeroWorkflowMax -Connection $xeroworkflowmax -Query 'SELECT * FROM Clients WHERE Name = @Name' -Params @{'@Name'='Cynthia'}

4. Save a list of the column names from the returned data.

   $columns = ($data | Get-Member -MemberType NoteProperty | Select-Object -Property Name).Name

Inserting Xero WorkflowMax Data into the MySQL Database

With the data and column names collected, you are ready to replicate the data into a MySQL database.

1. Install the module:

   Install-Module MySQLCmdlets

2. Connect to MySQL, using the server address and port of the MySQL server, valid user credentials, and a specific database with the table in which the data will be replicated:

   $mysql = Connect-MySQL -User $User -Password $Password -Database $Database -Server $Server -Port $Port

3. Loop through the Xero WorkflowMax data, store the values, and use the Add-MySQL cmdlet to insert the data into the MySQL database, one row at a time. In this example, the table will need to have the same name as the Xero WorkflowMax resource (Clients) and to exist in the database.

   $data | % { $row = $_ $values = @() $columns | % { $col = $_ $values += $row.$($col) } Add-MySQL -Connection $mysql -Table "Clients" -Columns $columns -Values $values }

You have now replicated your Xero WorkflowMax data to a MySQL database. This gives you freedom to work with Xero WorkflowMax data in the same way that you work with other MySQL tables, whether that is performing analytics, building reports, or other business functions.

Notes

• Once you have connected to Xero WorkflowMax and MySQL in PowerShell, you can pipe command results to perform the replication in a single line:

  Select-XeroWorkflowMax -Connection $xeroworkflowmax -Table "Clients" | % { $row = $_ $values = @() $columns | % { $col = $_ $values += $row.$($col) } Add-MySQL -Connection $mysql -Table "Clients" -Columns $columns -Values $values }

• If you wish to replicate the Xero WorkflowMax data to another database using another PowerShell module, you will want to exclude the Columns, Connection, and Table columns from the data returned by the Select-XeroWorkflowMax cmdlet since those columns are used to help pipe data from one CData cmdlet to another:

  $columns = ($data | Get-Member -MemberType NoteProperty | Select-Object -Property Name).Name | ? {$_ -NotIn @('Columns','Connection','Table')}