Feed Dynamics CRM Data into FineReport

The CData JDBC Driver for Dynamics CRM fully implements the JDBC standard and can provide Dynamics CRM data connectivity to a wide variety of BI, reporting, and ETL tools and custom applications. In this article, we explain how to set Dynamics CRM data as JDBC data source in FineReport and view Dynamics CRM data as a table in the Report Designer.

Set Up a JDBC Data Source of Dynamics CRM Data

Follow the instruction below to set Dynamics CRM data as a FineReport database connection.

1. Copy the cdata.jdbc.dynamicscrm.jar file from the lib folder in the CData JDBC Driver for Dynamics CRM installation directory to the lib folder of the FineReport installation directory. You will need to copy the cdata.jdbc.dynamicscrm.lic file as well.
2. From the Server tab, select Define Data Connection, click to add a new connection, and click JDBC.

Next we will set up the data connection definition in the window.

1. Database: Others
2. JDBC Driver: cdata.jdbc.dynamicscrm.DynamicsCRMDriver
3. URL: A standard JDBC connection string using semicolon-separated connection properties.

   The connection string options meet the authentication and connection requirements of different Dynamics CRM instances. To connect to your instance, set the User and Password properties, under the Authentication section, to valid Dynamics CRM user credentials and set the Url to a valid Dynamics CRM server organization root. Additionally, set the CRMVersion property to 'CRM2011+' or 'CRMOnline'. IFD configurations are supported as well; set InternetFacingDeployment to true.

   Additionally, you can provide the security token service (STS) or AD FS endpoint in the STSURL property. This value can be retrieved with the GetSTSUrl stored procedure. Office 365 users can connect to the default STS URL by simply setting CRMVersion.

   Built-in Connection String Designer

   For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Dynamics CRM JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

   java -jar cdata.jdbc.dynamicscrm.jar

   Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

   When you configure the JDBC URL, 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 reports and visualizations.

   A typical JDBC URL is below:

   jdbc:dynamicscrm:User=myuseraccount;Password=mypassword;URL=https://myOrg.crm.dynamics.com/;CRM Version=CRM Online;
4. Click Connection pool attributes and set Test before getting connections to No.

Click Test connection to ensure you have configured the connection properly. With the connection to Dynamics CRM set up, you can use it as FineReport data source.

Select Dynamics CRM Data in the Report Designer.

1. Click to add a new template data set and select DB query to open the database query window.
2. Choose the JDBC connection that you created from the dropdown list.
3. The Dynamics CRM entities will appear as tables on the left pane.
4. Write a SELECT statement for the Dynamics CRM data tables and columns that you want to load.
5. Click preview and data is shown as table.

With these simple steps, Dynamics CRM can be used as a JDBC data source in FineReport.