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Get the Report →How to create an RPA flow for Microsoft Dataverse Data in UiPath Studio
Use the Microsoft Dataverse ODBC Driver to create workflows that access real-time Microsoft Dataverse data without any coding.
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 Microsoft Dataverse, users can embed Microsoft Dataverse data in the workflow.
This article walks through using the Microsoft Dataverse ODBC Driver in UiPath Studio to create an RPA program that accesses Microsoft Dataverse data.
About Microsoft Dataverse Data Integration
CData provides the easiest way to access and integrate live data from Microsoft Dataverse (formerly the Common Data Service). Customers use CData connectivity to:
- Access both Dataverse Entities and Dataverse system tables to work with exactly the data they need.
- Authenticate securely with Microsoft Dataverse in a variety of ways, including Azure Active Directory, Azure Managed Service Identity credentials, and Azure Service Principal using either a client secret or a certificate.
- Use SQL stored procedures to manage Microsoft Dataverse entities - listing, creating, and removing associations between entities.
CData customers use our Dataverse connectivity solutions for a variety of reasons, whether they're looking to replicate their data into a data warehouse (alongside other data sources)or analyze live Dataverse data from their preferred data tools inside the Microsoft ecosystem (Power BI, Excel, etc.) or with external tools (Tableau, Looker, etc.).
Getting Started
Configure the Connection to Microsoft Dataverse
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.
You can connect without setting any connection properties for your user credentials. Below are the minimum connection properties required to connect.
- InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to avoid repeating the OAuth exchange and manually setting the OAuthAccessToken.
- OrganizationUrl: Set this to the organization URL you are connecting to, such as https://myorganization.crm.dynamics.com.
- Tenant (optional): Set this if you wish to authenticate to a different tenant than your default. This is required to work with an organization not on your default Tenant.
When you connect the Common Data Service OAuth endpoint opens in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions. The OAuth process completes automatically.
Connect UiPath Studio to Microsoft Dataverse Data
Now you are ready to use Microsoft Dataverse data ODBC DSN in UiPath Studio with the following steps.
- From the Start page, click Blank to create a New Project.
- Click Manage Packages then search for and install UiPath.Database.Activities.
- Navigate to the Activities and drop a Flowchart (Workflow -> Flowchart -> Flowchart) onto the process.
- Drop a database Connect activity (App Integration -> Datbase -> Connect) after the Start activity.
- Double-click the Connect activity and configure the Connection.
- Click the Connection Wizard
- Select "Microsoft ODBC Data Source"
- In Connection Properties, select your DSN (CData CDS Source) and click OK
- 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 Microsoft Dataverse data in our RPA.
- From the Activities navigation, select Execute Query and drop it on the Flowchart.
- Double-click the Execute Query activity and set the properties as follows:
- ExistingDbConnection: Your Connection variable
- Sql: SELECT statement like SELECT AccountId, Name FROM Accounts WHERE Name = 'MyAccount'
- 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 Microsoft Dataverse data.
- From the Activities navigation, select Write CSV and drop it after the Execute Query activity.
- 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 Microsoft Dataverse data and exporting it to CSV.
Click Run to extract Microsoft Dataverse data and create a CSV file.
In this article, we used the CData ODBC Driver for Microsoft Dataverse to create an automation flow that accesses Microsoft Dataverse data in UiPath Studio. Download a free, 30-day trial of the ODBC Driver and start working with live Microsoft Dataverse data in UiPath Studio today!