Connect to FormSite Data from PowerBuilder via ODBC

The CData ODBC Driver for FormSite can be used from any platform or development technology that supports ODBC, including PowerBuilder. This article shows how to connect to FormSite data and execute queries from the Database Painter and controls such as the DataWindow.

Connect to FormSite 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 FormSite Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\FormSite.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for FormSite (see below).

FormSite API Profile Settings

Log into your Formsite account and visit the Admin Portal to generate or retrieve your API key. Your

ServerNumber

is the numeric part of your server URL and

UserDirectory

is your account's directory path.

Create a Profile for the ODBC Driver for FormSite

Follow the steps below to use the Database Painter tool to create a database profile based on an ODBC DSN (data source name) for FormSite. In the Database Painter, you can use wizards and the UI to work with FormSite data.

1. In PowerBuilder, click Tools -> Database Painter.
2. In the Objects window in the Database Painter, right-click the ODBC node and click New Profile.
3. On the Connection tab, enter a name for the profile and select the FormSite DSN in the Data Source menu.
4. To view and modify a table, right-click a table and then click Edit Data -> Grid.

Using FormSite Data with PowerBuilder Controls

You can use standard PowerBuilder objects to connect to ODBC data sources and execute queries. The following example shows how to retrieve FormSite data into a DataWindow. You can add the following code to the open method:

SQLCA.DBMS = "ODBC"
SQLCA.DBParm = "ConnectString='DSN=CData API Source'"
CONNECT USING SQLCA;
dw_formitems.SetTransObject(SQLCA);
dw_formitems.Retrieve();