How to create Visio diagrams from FreshBooks Data

Automate the process of entering data into Visio diagrams and keeping your diagrams up to date with the CData ODBC Driver for FreshBooks. The driver surfaces FreshBooks data as an ODBC data source that can be accessed by applications with built-in ODBC support like Microsoft Office. This article shows how to create a simple diagram to start brainstorming about Visio projects linked to FreshBooks data.

Connect to FreshBooks 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.

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.

Connect FreshBooks Data to Diagrams

Follow the steps below to use the Data Selector Wizard to import data into your diagram.

1. Open Visio and click File -> New. Open the Brainstorming template.
2. On the Data tab, click Link Data to Shapes.
3. Select the ODBC option and select ODBC DSN.
4. Select the DSN for FreshBooks, select the table you want to import, and finish the wizard. This article uses Clients as an example.

Link FreshBooks Entities to Shapes

Follow the steps below to create a simple diagram that shows how to create shapes from your data, one of the ways to link FreshBooks entities to shapes:

1. Click Brainstorming Shapes and drag a main topic onto the drawing page. Enter Clients as the text of the main topic.
2. Click Topic.
3. Select a row in the External Data window and drag it onto the drawing page.
4. Right-click the Topic shape and click Data -> Edit Data Graphic.
5. Click New Item.
6. In the Data Field menu, select a column. In the Displayed As menu, select how to display them.
7. Drag a few other FreshBooks entities onto the drawing page and add association lines back to the main topic, Clients. New topics have the same configuration: Numeric columns displayed in data bars stand out in contrast to other Clients entities.

You can refresh your diagram from the Data tab, synchronizing your shapes with the external FreshBooks data.