Create SAS Data Sets-Connected Nintex Workflows

Nintex Workflow Cloud is a cloud-based platform where you can design workflows to automate simple or complex processes using drag-and-drop interactions — without writing any code. When paired with CData Connect Server, you get instant, cloud-to-cloud access to SAS Data Sets data for business applications. This article shows how to create a virtual database for SAS Data Sets in Connect Server and build a simple workflow from SAS Data Sets data in Nintex.

CData Connect Server provides a pure SQL Server interface for SAS Data Sets, allowing you to build workflows from live SAS Data Sets data in Nintex Workflow Cloud — without replicating the data to a natively supported database. Nintex allows you to access data directly using SQL queries. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect Server pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc.) directly to SAS Data Sets, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return the requested SAS Data Sets data.

Create a Virtual SQL Server Database for SAS Data Sets Data

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

1. Log into Connect Server and click Connections.
2. Select "SAS Data Sets" from Available Data Sources.
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to SAS Data Sets.

   Set the following connection properties to connect to your SAS DataSet files:

   Connecting to Local Files

   • Set the Connection Type to "Local." Local files support SELECT, INSERT, and DELETE commands.
   • Set the URI to a folder containing SAS files, e.g. C:\PATH\TO\FOLDER\.

   Connecting to Cloud-Hosted SAS DataSet Files

   While the driver is capable of pulling data from SAS DataSet files hosted on a variety of cloud data stores, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE are not supported outside of local files in this driver.

   Set the Connection Type to the service hosting your SAS DataSet files. A unique prefix at the beginning of the URI connection property is used to identify the cloud data store and the remainder of the path is a relative path to the desired folder (one table per file) or single file (a single table). For more information, refer to the Getting Started section of the Help documentation.

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 SAS Data Sets data from Nintex.

Connect to SAS Data Sets in Nintex

The steps below outline creating a new connection for access to SAS Data Sets CData Connect Server from Nintex to create a new SAS Data Sets data source.

1. Log into Nintex Workflow Cloud
2. In the Connections tab, click "Add new"
3. Select SQL Server as the connector and click "Connect"
4. In the SQL Server connection wizard, set the following properties:
   • Connection Name: name the connection (e.g., CData Connect Server SAS Data Sets Connection)
   • Username: your Connect Server username
   • Password: your Connect Server password
   • Database Host: your Connect Server SQL Server endpoint (e.g., connect_server_url)
   • Database Name: the virtual SAS Data Sets database (e.g., SASDataSets1)
5. Click "Connect"
6. Configure the connection permissions and click "Save permissions"

Create a Simple SAS Data Sets Workflow

With the connection to CData Connect Server configured, we are ready to build a simple workflow to access SAS Data Sets data. Start by clicking the "Create workflow" button.

Configure the Start Event Action

1. Click the start event task and select the "Form" event
2. Click "Design form"
3. Drag a "Text - Long" element onto the Form and click the element to configure it
   • Set "Title" to "Enter SQL query"
   • Set "Required" to true
4. Drag a "Text - Short" element onto the Form and click the element to configure it
   • Set "Title" to "Enter desired result column"
   • Set "Required" to true

Configure an "Execute a Query" Action

1. Add an "Execute a query" action after the "Start event: Form" action and click to configure the action
2. Set "SQL Script" to the "Enter SQL Query" variable from the "Start event" action
3. Set "Column to retrieve" to the "Enter desired result column" variable from the "Start event" action
4. Set "Retrieved column" to a new variable (e.g., "values")

Configure a "Send an Email" Action

1. Add a "Send an email" action after the "Execute a query" action and click to configure the action
2. Set the "Recipient email address"
3. Set the "Subject"
4. Set the "Message body" to the variable created for the retrieved column

Once you configure the actions, click "Save," name the Workflow, and click "Save" again. You now have a simple workflow that will query SAS Data Sets using SQL and send an email with the results.

To learn more about SQL data access to 200+ SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your cloud applications, check out the CData Connect Server. Sign up for a free trial and reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.