Viewing Salesforce Data Cloud Data in RAD Studio Data Explorer



How to view Salesforce Data Cloud data in RAD Studio Data Explorer using the CData ODBC Driver for Salesforce Data Cloud.

Embarcadero RAD Studio provides a development environment for Delphi and C++Builder applications. With the CData ODBC Driver for Salesforce Data Cloud, you gain access to live Salesforce Data Cloud data within RAD Studio, abstracting the data into tables, views, and stored procedures that can be used to both retrieve Salesforce Data Cloud data. This article will walk through connecting to Salesforce Data Cloud using the Data Explorer.

Configure a Connection to Salesforce Data Cloud

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.

Salesforce Data Cloud supports authentication via the OAuth standard.

OAuth

Set AuthScheme to OAuth.

Desktop Applications

CData provides an embedded OAuth application that simplifies authentication at the desktop.

You can also authenticate from the desktop via a custom OAuth application, which you configure and register at the Salesforce Data Cloud console. For further information, see Creating a Custom OAuth App in the Help documentation.

Before you connect, set these properties:

  • InitiateOAuth: GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to avoid repeating the OAuth exchange and manually setting the OAuthAccessToken.
  • OAuthClientId (custom applications only): The Client ID assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
  • OAuthClientSecret (custom applications only): The Client Secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.

When you connect, the driver opens Salesforce Data Cloud's OAuth endpoint in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions to the application.

The driver then completes the OAuth process as follows:

  • Extracts the access token from the callback URL.
  • Obtains a new access token when the old one expires.
  • Saves OAuth values in OAuthSettingsLocation so that they persist across connections.
  • For other OAuth methods, including Web Applications and Headless Machines, refer to the Help documentation.

    Connecting to Salesforce Data Cloud Data Using Data Explorer

    You can create a simple application for displaying Salesforce Data Cloud data by utilizing the CData FireDAC Components for Salesforce Data Cloud and a new VCL Forms Application:

    1. Open the Data Explorer in RAD Studio and expand FireDAC.
    2. Right-click the ODBC Data Source node in the Data Explorer.
    3. Click Add New Connection.
    4. Enter a name for the connection.
    5. In the FireDAC Connection Editor that appears, set the DataSource property to the name of the ODBC DSN for Salesforce Data Cloud.
    6. Back in the Data Explorer, expand the views for the connection.
    7. Create a new VCL Forms application and drag a view (for example: Account) onto the form.

    8. Select the AccountView object on the form and set the Active property to true.
    9. Right-click on the object, bind visually, and link everything (*) to a new control (TStringGrid).

    10. Arrange the TStringGrid on the form and run the application to see the Account data.

    Related Articles

    Below you can find other articles for using the CData ODBC Driver with RAD Studio, Delphi, and C++ Builder.

Ready to get started?

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Salesforce Data Cloud Icon Salesforce Data Cloud ODBC Driver

The Salesforce Data Cloud ODBC Driver is a powerful tool that allows you to connect with live data from Salesforce Data Cloud, directly from any applications that support ODBC connectivity.

Access Salesforce Data Cloud data like you would a database - read, write, and update Salesforce Data Cloud 0, etc. through a standard ODBC Driver interface.