How to Access Live Foursquare Data in Power Automate Desktop via ODBC
The CData ODBC Driver for Foursquare enables you to access live Foursquare data in workflow automation tools like Power Automate. This article shows how to integrate Foursquare data into a simple workflow, moving Foursquare data into a CSV file.
Through optimized data processing, CData ODBC Drivers offer unmatched performance for interacting with live Foursquare data in Microsoft Power Automate. When you issue complex SQL queries from Power Automate to Foursquare, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Foursquare and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (e.g. SQL functions and JOIN operations).
Connect to Foursquare 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.
Using API Key Authentication
Foursquare Places API uses Service Key (Bearer token) authentication. To obtain a Service Key:
- Go to the Foursquare Developer Console at https://foursquare.com/developers/
- Create a new project or select an existing one
- Navigate to the API Keys section
- Generate a new Service Key for the Places API
After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:
- AuthScheme: Set this to APIKey.
- ServiceKey: Set this to your Foursquare Service Key obtained from the Developer Console.
- XPlacesApiVersion: (Optional) Set this to the API version date. Defaults to 2025-06-17.
Example APIKey connection string
Profile=C:\profiles\Foursquare.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;ProfileSettings='APIKey=your_personal_access_token';
When you configure the DSN, 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 workflows.
Integrate Foursquare Data into Power Automate Workflows
After configuring the DSN for Foursquare, you are ready to integrate Foursquare data into your Power Automate workflows. Open Microsoft Power Automate, add a new flow, and name the flow.
In the flow editor, you can add the actions to connect to Foursquare, query Foursquare using SQL, and write the query results to a CSV document.
Add an Open SQL Connection Action
Add an "Open SQL connection" action (Actions -> Database) and configure the properties.
- Connection string: DSN=CData Foursquare Source
After configuring the action, click Save.
Add an Execute SQL Statement Action
Add an "Execute SQL statement" action (Actions -> Database) and configure the properties.
- Get connection by: SQL connection variable
- SQL connection: %SQLConnection% (the variable from the "Open SQL connection" action above)
- SQL statement: SELECT * FROM Autocomplete
After configuring the action, click Save.
Add a Write to CSV File Action
Add a "Write to CSV file" action (Actions -> File) and configure the properties.
- Variable to write to: %QueryResult% (the variable from the "Execute SQL statement" action above)
- File path: set to a file on disk
- Configure Advanced settings as needed.
After configuring the action, click Save.
Add a Close SQL Connection Action
Add a "Close SQL connection" action (Actions -> Database) and configure the properties.
- SQL Connection: %SQLConnection% (the variable from the "Open SQL connection" action above)
After configuring the action, click Save.
Save & Run the Flow
Once you have configured all the actions for the flow, click the disk icon to save the flow. Click the play icon to run the flow.
Now you have a workflow to move Foursquare data into a CSV file.
With the CData ODBC Driver for Foursquare, you get live connectivity to Foursquare data within your Microsoft Power Automate workflows.
Related Power Automate Articles
This article explains how to use the CData ODBC Driver for Foursquare with Power Automate Desktop. Check out our other articles for more ways to work with Power Automate (Desktop & Online):