Create Informatica Mappings From/To an ODBC Data Source for Dynamics 365 Business Central



Create an ODBC connection to Dynamics 365 Business Central in Informatica and browse and transfer Dynamics 365 Business Central data.

Informatica provides a powerful, elegant means of transporting and transforming your data. By utilizing the CData ODBC Driver for Dynamics 365 Business Central, you are gaining access to a driver based on industry-proven standards that integrates seamlessly with Informatica's powerful data transportation and manipulation features. This tutorial shows how to transfer and browse Dynamics 365 Business Central data in Informatica PowerCenter.

Connect to Dynamics 365 Business Central as an ODBC Data Source

Information for connecting to Dynamics 365 Business Central follows, along with different instructions for configuring a DSN in Windows and Linux environments.

To authenticate to Dynamics 365 Business Central, you must provide the User and AccessKey properties.

To obtain the User and AccessKey values, navigate to the Users page in Dynamics 365 Business Central and then click on Edit. The User Name and Web Service Access Key values are what you will enter as the User and AccessKey connection string properties. Note that the User Name is not your email address. It is a shortened user name.

To connect to data, specify OrganizationUrl. If you have multiple companies in your organization, you must also specify the Company to indicate which company you would like to connect to. Company does not need to be specified if you have only one company.

Windows

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.

Linux

If you are installing the CData ODBC Driver for Dynamics 365 Business Central in a Linux environment, the driver installation predefines a system DSN. You can modify the DSN by editing the system data sources file (/etc/odbc.ini) and defining the required connection properties.

/etc/odbc.ini

[CData D365BusinessCentral Source] Driver = CData ODBC Driver for Dynamics 365 Business Central Description = My Description OrganizationUrl = https://myaccount.financials.dynamics.com/

For specific information on using these configuration files, please refer to the help documentation (installed and found online).

Create a Linked Table to Accounts Data

Follow the steps below to create a linked table, which enables you to access live Accounts data.

Create the ODBC Connection

Follow the steps below to connect to Dynamics 365 Business Central in Informatica PowerCenter:

  1. In the Informatica Developer tool connect to your repository and create a project.
  2. In the Connection Explorer pane, right-click and click Create a Connection.
  3. In the New Database Connection wizard that is displayed, enter a name and Id for the connection and in the Type menu select ODBC.
  4. In the Connection String property, enter the DSN.

NOTE: If you are working in a Linux operating system, set the Driver Manager for Linux property to unixODBC 2.3.x.

Create the Dynamics 365 Business Central Data Object

After you have created an ODBC connection to Dynamics 365 Business Central, you can now access Dynamics 365 Business Central entities in Informatica. Follow the steps below to add Accounts entities to your project.

  1. In the Object Explorer, right-click your project and then click New -> Data Object.
  2. In the wizard that is displayed, select the Relational Data Object option.
  3. Click the Browse button next to the Connection box and select the ODBC connection you created in the previous step.
  4. Select the option to create a data object from an existing resource and click the Browse button next to the Resource box.
  5. In the dialog that is displayed, clear the Show Default Schema Only option and expand the node for the ODBC connection. Select the entity that you want.

You can now browse the table in the Data Viewer: Right-click the node for the table and then click Open. On the Data Viewer view, click Run.

Create the Mapping

Follow the steps below to add the Dynamics 365 Business Central source to a mapping:

  1. In the Object Explorer, right-click your project and then click New -> Mapping.
  2. Expand the node for the Dynamics 365 Business Central connection and then drag the data object for the table onto the editor.
  3. In the dialog that appears, select the Read option.

Follow the steps below to map Dynamics 365 Business Central columns to a flat file:

  1. In the Object Explorer, right-click your project and then click New -> Data Object.
  2. Select Flat File Data Object -> Create as Empty -> Fixed Width.
  3. In the properties for the Dynamics 365 Business Central object, select the rows you want, right-click, and then click copy. Paste the rows into the flat file properties.
  4. Drag the flat file data object onto the mapping. In the dialog that appears, select the Write option.
  5. Click and drag to connect columns.

To transfer Dynamics 365 Business Central data, right-click in the workspace and then click Run Mapping.

Ready to get started?

Download a free trial of the Dynamics 365 Business Central ODBC Driver to get started:

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Learn more:

Dynamics 365 Business Central (NAV) Icon Dynamics 365 Business Central ODBC Driver

The Dynamics 365 Business Central ODBC Driver is a powerful tool that allows you to connect with live Dynamics 365 Business Central data, directly from any applications that support ODBC connectivity.

Access Dynamics 365 Business Central like you would a database - read, write, and update Items, Sales Orders, Purchase Orders, etc. through a standard ODBC Driver interface.