How to Access Live ConstantContact Data in Power Automate Desktop via ODBC

The CData ODBC Driver for ConstantContact enables you to access live ConstantContact data in workflow automation tools like Power Automate. This article shows how to integrate ConstantContact data into a simple workflow, moving ConstantContact data into a CSV file.

Through optimized data processing, CData ODBC Drivers offer unmatched performance for interacting with live ConstantContact data in Microsoft Power Automate. When you issue complex SQL queries from Power Automate to ConstantContact, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to ConstantContact and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (e.g. SQL functions and JOIN operations).

Connect to ConstantContact as an ODBC Data Source

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.

Start by setting the Profile connection property to the location of the ConstantContact Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\ConstantContact.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for Profile (see below).

ConstantContact API Profile Settings

ConstantContact uses OAuth-based authentication.

First, you will need to register an OAuth application with ConstantContact. You can do so from the ConstantContact API Guide (https://v3.developer.constantcontact.com/api_guide/index.html), under "MyApplications" > "New Application". Your Oauth application will be assigned a client id (API Key) and you can generate a client secret (Secret).

After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

• AuthScheme: Set this to OAuth.
• InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to manage the process to obtain the OAuthAccessToken.
• OAuthClientId: Set this to the client_id that is specified in you app settings.
• OAuthClientSecret: Set this to the client_secret that is specified in you app settings.
• CallbackURL: Set this to the Redirect URI you specified in your app settings.

When you configure the DSN, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing workflows.

Integrate ConstantContact Data into Power Automate Workflows

After configuring the DSN for ConstantContact, you are ready to integrate ConstantContact 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 actions to connect to ConstantContact, query ConstantContact using SQL, and write the query results to a CSV document.

Add an Open SQL Connection Action

Add an "Open SQL connection" action (Actions -> Database) and configure the properties.

• Connection string: DSN=CData ConstantContact Source

After configuring the action, click Save.

Add an Execute SQL Statement Action

Add an "Execute SQL statement" action (Actions -> 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 Contacts

After configuring the action, click Save.

Add a Write to CSV File Action

Add a "Write to CSV file" action (Actions -> 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 action, click Save.

Add a Close SQL Connection Action

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

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

After configuring the action, click Save.

Save & Run the Flow

Once you have configured all the actions 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 move ConstantContact data into a CSV file.

With the CData ODBC Driver for ConstantContact, you get live connectivity to ConstantContact data within your Microsoft Power Automate workflows.

Related Power Automate Articles

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

• ConstantContact Data in Power Automate Desktop using CData Connect
• ConstantContact Data in Power Automate (Online) using CData Connect