How to create an RPA flow for Airtable Data in UiPath Studio

UiPath is a Robotic Process Automation (RPA) platform with rich features and an easy-to-use UI that enables non-developers to create process automation. By using UiPath Studio, you can build an RPA program just like drawing a diagram. With the CData ODBC Driver for Airtable, users can embed Airtable data in the workflow.

This article walks through using the Airtable ODBC Driver in UiPath Studio to create an RPA program that accesses Airtable data.

Configure the Connection to Airtable

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.

APIKey, BaseId and TableNames parameters are required to connect to Airtable. ViewNames is an optional parameter where views of the tables may be specified.

• APIKey : API Key of your account. To obtain this value, after logging in go to Account. In API section click Generate API key.
• BaseId : Id of your base. To obtain this value, it is in the same section as the APIKey. Click on Airtable API, or navigate to https://airtable.com/api and select a base. In the introduction section you can find "The ID of this base is appxxN2ftedc0nEG7."
• TableNames : A comma separated list of table names for the selected base. These are the same names of tables as found in the UI.
• ViewNames : A comma separated list of views in the format of (table.view) names. These are the same names of the views as found in the UI.

Connect UiPath Studio to Airtable Data

Now you are ready to use Airtable data ODBC DSN in UiPath Studio with the following steps.

1. From the Start page, click Blank to create a New Project.
2. Click Manage Packages then search for and install UiPath.Database.Activities.
3. Navigate to the Activities and drop a Flowchart (Workflow -> Flowchart -> Flowchart) onto the process.
4. Drop a database Connect activity (App Integration -> Datbase -> Connect) after the Start activity.
5. Double-click the Connect activity and configure the Connection.
   1. Click the Connection Wizard
   2. Select "Microsoft ODBC Data Source"
   3. In Connection Properties, select your DSN (CData Airtable Source) and click OK
6. To store Connection info, create a variable and bind to Output in the Properties section. Choose DatabaseConnection in Output.
   

Create an Execute Query Activity

With the connection configured, we are ready to query Airtable data in our RPA.

1. From the Activities navigation, select Execute Query and drop it on the Flowchart.
2. Double-click the Execute Query activity and set the properties as follows:
   • ExistingDbConnection: Your Connection variable
   • Sql: SELECT statement like SELECT Id, Column1 FROM SampleTable_1 WHERE Column2 = 'SomeValue'
   • DataTable: Create and use a variable with the Type System.Data.DataTable

Create Write CSV Activity

With the Connection and Execute Query activities configured, we are ready to add a Write CSV activity to the Flowchart to replicate the Airtable data.

1. From the Activities navigation, select Write CSV and drop it after the Execute Query activity.
2. Double-click the Write CSV activity and set the properties as follows:
   • FilePath: Set to a file (new or existing) on disk (i.e.: C:\UiPath[id]-data.csv
   • DataTable: Set to the DataTable variable you created earlier

Connect the Activities and Run the Flowchart

If they are not already connected, connect each Activity that you created to complete the RPA project for extracting Airtable data and exporting it to CSV.

Click Run to extract Airtable data and create a CSV file.

In this article, we used the CData ODBC Driver for Airtable to create an automation flow that accesses Airtable data in UiPath Studio. Download a free, 30-day trial of the ODBC Driver and start working with live Airtable data in UiPath Studio today!