Connect to FreshBooks Data in RazorSQL

The CData JDBC Driver for FreshBooks enables standards-based access from third-party tools, from wizards in IDEs to data management and analysis tools. This article shows how to connect to FreshBooks using wizards in RazorSQL.

Create a JDBC Data Source for FreshBooks Data

1. Open the RazorSQL application and, in the Connections menu, select Add Connection Profile -> Other -> JDBC.
2. In the Connection Wizard that appears, set the following properties:
   • Driver Location: Set this property to the path to the lib subfolder in the installation directory.
   • Driver Class: Set the driver class to cdata.jdbc.freshbooks.FreshBooksDriver.
   • Username: Enter the username. (This property can also be set in the JDBC URL.)
   • Password: Enter the password. (This property can also be set in the JDBC URL.)

   • JDBC URL: Enter connection parameters. The JDBC URL begins with jdbc:freshbooks: and is followed by a semicolon-separated list of connection properties.

     To connect to FreshBooks, you can set the CompanyName and Token connection properties. Alternatively, you can use the OAuth authentication standard.

     OAuth can be used to enable other users to access their own company data. To authenticate using OAuth, you will need to obtain the OAuthClientId and OAuthClientSecret by registering an app. See the "Getting Started" chapter of the help documentation for a guide to using OAuth.

     Built-in Connection String Designer

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

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.freshbooks.jar

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

     A typical JDBC URL is the following:

     jdbc:freshbooks:CompanyName=CData;Token=token;

Query FreshBooks Data and Select Tables

After establishing a connection, the wizard will close and the connection will be available in the connections panel. You can then query the tables.