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Get the Report →Use the CData ODBC Driver for Xero in MicroStrategy Web
Connect to Xero data in MicroStrategy Web using the CData ODBC Driver for Xero.
MicroStrategy is an analytics and mobility platform that enables data-driven innovation. When you pair MicroStrategy with the CData ODBC Driver for Xero, you gain database-like access to live Xero data from MicroStrategy, expanding your reporting and analytics capabilities. In this article, we walk through adding Xero as external data in MicroStrategy Web and creating a simple visualization of Xero data.
The CData ODBC driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Xero data in MicroStrategy due to optimized data processing built into the driver. When you issue complex SQL queries from MicroStrategy to Xero, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Xero and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations (often SQL functions and JOIN operations) client-side. With built-in dynamic metadata querying, you can visualize and analyze Xero data using native MicroStrategy data types.
About Xero Data Integration
Accessing and integrating live data from Xero has never been easier with CData. Customers rely on CData connectivity to:
- Connect to Xero Accounts and both US and Australian Payroll APIs.
- Read, write, update, and delete Xero objects like Customers, Transactions, Invoices, Sales Receipts and more.
- Use SQL stored procedures for actions like adding items to a cart, submitting orders, and downloading attachments.
- Work with accounting, payroll, file, fixed asset, and project data.
Customers regularly integrate their Xero data with preferred tools, like Tableau, Qlik Sense, or Excel, and integrate Xero data into their database or data warehouse.
Getting Started
Connect to Xero as an ODBC Data Source
Information for connecting to Xero follows, along with different instructions for configuring a DSN in Windows and Linux environments (the ODBC Driver for Xero must be installed on the machine hosting the connected MicroStrategy Intelligence Server).
To connect, set the Schema connection property in addition to any authentication values. Xero offers authentication for private applications, public applications, and partner applications. You will need to set the XeroAppAuthentication property to PUBLIC, PRIVATE, or PARTNER, depending on the type of application configured. To connect from a private application, you will additionally need to set the OAuthAccessToken, OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, CertificateStoreType, CertificateStore, and CertificateStorePassword.
To connect from a public or partner application, you can use the embedded OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL, or you can register an app to obtain your own OAuth values.
See the "Getting Started" chapter of the help documentation for a guide to authenticating to Xero.
When you configure the DSN, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.
Windows
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.
Linux
If you are installing the CData ODBC Driver for Xero in a Linux environment, the driver installation predefines a system DSN. You can modify the DSN by editing the system data sources file (/etc/odbc.ini) and defining the required connection properties.
/etc/odbc.ini
[CData Xero Sys]
Driver = CData ODBC Driver for Xero
Description = My Description
For specific information on using these configuration files, please refer to the help documentation (installed and found online).
Connect to and Visualize Xero Data using MicroStrategy Web
Once you have created a database instance in MicroStrategy Developer and connected it to a project, you can perform a data import of Xero data from MicroStrategy Web. Alternatively, you can create a new data source based on the ODBC Driver.*
- Open MicroStrategy Web and select your project.
- Click Add External Data, select Databases, and choose Select a Table as the Import Option.
- In the Import from Tables wizard, click to add a new data source.
- Select DSN Data Sources
- Set the DSN property to the previously configured DSN (CData Xero Sys)
- Set the Version property to Generic DBMS
- Set the User and Password properties (or use filler values)
- Set the Data Source Name
- After creating the data source, click to edit the catalog options and set the following queries and click OK.
- SQL statement to retrieve tables available in the data source
SELECT CatalogName NAME_SPACE, TableName TAB_NAME FROM SYS_TABLES
- SQL statement to retrieve columns for the selected tables
SELECT DISTINCT CatalogName NAME_SPACE, TableName TAB_NAME, ColumnName COL_NAME, DataTypeName DATA_TYPE, Length DATA_LEN, NumericPrecision DATA_PREC, NumericScale DATA_SCALE FROM SYS_TABLECOLUMNS WHERE TableName IN (#TABLE_LIST#) ORDER BY 1,2,3
- SQL statement to retrieve tables available in the data source
- Drag a table into the pane.
Note: Since we create a live connection, we can import whole tables and utilize the filtering and aggregation features native to the MicroStrategy products.
- Click Finish, choose to the option to connect live, save the query, and choose the option to create a new dossier.
- Choose a visualization, choose fields to display, and apply any filters to create a new visualization of Xero data. Data types are discovered automatically through dynamic metadata discovery. Where possible, the complex queries generated by the filters and aggregations will be pushed down to Xero, while any unsupported operations (which can include SQL functions and JOIN operations) will be managed client-side by the CData SQL engine embedded in the driver.
- Once you have finished configuring the dossier, click File -> Save.
Using the CData ODBC Driver for Xero in MicroStrategy Web, you can easily create robust visualizations and reports on Xero data. Read our other articles on connecting to Xero in MicroStrategy and connecting to Xero in MicroStrategy Desktop for more examples.
Note: connecting using a ODBC driver requires a 3- or 4-tier architecture.