Connect to FreshBooks 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 FreshBooks data. This article demonstrates how to connect to FreshBooks using Connect AI and query FreshBooks data in HeidiSQL.

CData Connect AI provides a pure SQL Server interface for FreshBooks, allowing you to query data from FreshBooks 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 FreshBooks, leveraging server-side processing to return the requested FreshBooks data quickly.

Configure FreshBooks Connectivity for HeidiSQL

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

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

2. Select "FreshBooks" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to FreshBooks.

   To connect to FreshBooks, register an OAuth application at my.freshbooks.com/#/developer. Set the Redirect URI to https://oauth.cdata.com/oauth/. Copy the Client Id and Client Secret from the App Settings section (admin access required). Then set the following:

   • OAuth Client Id: Set this to the Client Id from your FreshBooks application.
   • OAuth Client Secret: Set this to the Client Secret from your FreshBooks application.

   Click Sign In to complete OAuth authentication.

   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add FreshBooks 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 FreshBooks data from HeidiSQL.

Connect to FreshBooks 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-FreshBooks

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 FreshBooks from HeidiSQL

1. In the database listing on the left, find your connection to FreshBooks configured earlier.
2. Expand this connection to view individual tables or data objects present within FreshBooks.
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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