Create Sage US-Connected Business Apps in AppSheet

AppSheet provides a no-code development platform for application software, which allows users to create mobile, tablet, and web applications. When paired with CData Connect Server, you get instant access to Sage US data for business applications. This article shows how to create a virtual database for Sage US in Connect Server and build a simple app from Sage US data in AppSheet.

CData Connect Server provides a pure SQL Server interface for Sage US, allowing you to easily build reports from live Sage US data in AppSheet — without replicating the data to a natively supported database. As you build visualizations, AppSheet generates SQL queries to gather data. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect Server pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Sage US, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return the requested Sage US data.

Create a Virtual SQL Server Database for Sage US Data

CData Connect Server uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources and generate APIs.

1. Login to Connect Server and click Connections.
2. Select "Sage US" from Available Data Sources.
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Sage US.

   The Application Id and Company Name connection string options are required to connect to Sage as a data source. You can obtain an Application Id by contacting Sage directly to request access to the Sage 50 SDK.

   Sage must be installed on the machine. The Sage.Peachtree.API.dll and Sage.Peachtree.API.Resolver.dll assemblies are required. These assemblies are installed with Sage in C:/Program Files/Sage/Peachtree/API/. Additionally, the Sage SDK requires .NET Framework 4.0 and is only compatible with 32-bit applications. To use the Sage SDK in Visual Studio, set the Platform Target property to "x86" in Project -> Properties -> Build.

   You must authorize the application to access company data: To authorize your application to access Sage, restart the Sage application, open the company you want to access, and connect with your application. You will then be prompted to set access permissions for the application in the resulting dialog.

   While the compiled executable will require authorization only once, during development you may need to follow this process to reauthorize a new build. To avoid restarting the Sage application when developing with Visual Studio, click Build -> Configuration Manager and uncheck "Build" for your project.

4. Click Save Changes
5. Click Privileges -> Add and add the new user (or an existing user) with the appropriate permissions.

With the virtual database created, you are ready to connect to Sage US data from AppSheet.

Connect to Sage US in AppSheet

The steps below outline connecting to CData Connect Server from AppSheet to create a new Sage US data source.

1. Log into AppSheet.
2. Click the letter icon in the top-right corner, then select Account Settings.
3. Click the Sources tab and click + New Data Source. Then, select Cloud Database.
4. Set the connection information to the following:
   • Type: SQLServer
   • Server: the endpoint for your instance, including port, for example, CONNECT_SERVER_URL,3306
   • Database: the virtual database, for example, Sage50US1
   • Username: a Connect Server user with permissions for the database
   • Password: the password for the above Connect Server user
   • SSL: Require SSL
5. Click Test. Then, click Authorize Access.

Create an App

Once you create the data source for Sage US, you can start building apps on Sage US data.

1. Start by clicking + Create -> App -> Start with existing data.
2. Name the app and select an appropriate category, based on your data. Then, click Choose your data.
3. Select the newly created data source (e.g., Sage50US1).
4. Select the table or view with the data you want.

At this point, you can configure the design of your app, selecting which columns from the selected table to display, use as labels, and more. Preview the app in the preview panel and then publish or share it when ready.

To get SQL data access to 200+ SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your applications, try the CData Connect Server.