Rapidly Develop Copper-Driven Apps with Active Query Builder
Write standard .NET to expose Copper data through an SQL interface: Active Query Builder helps developers write SQL interfaces; the CData ODBC Driver for Copper enables standards-based access to Copper. This integration uses the Microsoft ADO.NET Provider for ODBC as a bridge between the ODBC Driver and the Active Query Builder objects to build a visual SQL composer.
Connect to Copper 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 Copper Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\Copper.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for Copper (see below).
Copper API Profile Settings
In Copper CRM, go to Settings > Integrations > API Keys and click Generate API Key. Provide both the API key and the email address associated with your account.
Use SQL to Interact with Copper
Follow the steps below to create a WinForms visual query builder.
- Open Active Query Builder for .NET WinForms.
- In the new Windows Forms project go to the "File" menu and click "Connect..."
- Under Database Connections, click "Add..."
- Set your desired Connection Name (e.g. CData Copper), set Connection Type to "ODBC" and locate your previously configured DSN in the "User/System" DSN dropdown.
- Click "OK" to save the new connection.
- Back in the Database Connection wizard, select the newly created connection and click "OK."
- Click "File" > "New Query" to create a QueryBuilder
You can now build queries visually: Double-click a table in the Columns Pane Area and an entity/relationship diagram is displayed in the Query Building Area. Columns that you select in the diagram are added to the query.
