Connect to Dynamics NAV Data from HeidiSQL

HeidiSQL is an open-source database administration tool that natively supports MariaDB, MySQL, SQL Server, and PostgreSQL. When paired with CData Connect AI, HediSQL reach extends to include access to live Dynamics NAV data. This article demonstrates how to connect to Dynamics NAV using Connect AI and query Dynamics NAV data in HeidiSQL.

CData Connect AI provides a pure SQL Server interface for Dynamics NAV, allowing you to query data from Dynamics NAV without replicating the data to a natively supported database. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect AI pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc.) directly to Dynamics NAV, leveraging server-side processing to return the requested Dynamics NAV data quickly.

Configure Dynamics NAV Connectivity for HeidiSQL

Connectivity to Dynamics NAV from HeidiSQL is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with Dynamics NAV data from HeidiSQL, we start by creating and configuring a Dynamics NAV connection.

1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection

2. Select "Dynamics NAV" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Dynamics NAV.

   Before you can connect, OData Services will need to be enabled on the server. Once OData Services are enabled, you will be able to query any Services that are published on the server.

   The User and Password properties, under the Authentication section, must be set to valid Dynamics NAV user credentials. In addition, specify a URL to a valid Dynamics NAV server organization root and a ServerInstance. If there is not a Service Default Company for the server, set the Company as well.

   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Dynamics NAV Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect AI through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the PAT a name and click Create.
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to Dynamics NAV data from HeidiSQL.

Connect to Dynamics NAV from HeidiSQL using Connect AI

To establish a connection from HeidiSQL to the CData Connect AI Virtual SQL Server API, follow these steps.

Create a new HeidiSQL Session

1. In the Session Manager, select New in the bottom-left
2. Give the new session a descriptive name, e.g. Connect-Cloud-Dynamics NAV

Configure a SQL Server Connection to Connect AI

1. In the session settings, set the Network type to Microsoft SQL Server (TCP/IP)
2. The Library DLL should automatically update to MSOLEDBSQL
3. Set the Hostname/IP to tds.cdata.com
4. Set the User to your CData Connect AI username. This is displayed in the top-right corner of the CData Connect AI interface. For example, [email protected]
5. Set the Password to your PAT created in Connect AI in the previous section.
6. Set the Port to 14333

Query Dynamics NAV from HeidiSQL

1. In the database listing on the left, find your connection to Dynamics NAV configured earlier.
2. Expand this connection to view individual tables or data objects present within Dynamics NAV.
3. Write custom SQL queries targeting these tables, treating the data source like any SQL Server database, or visually explore each tabular data set by selecting the relevant tables

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